A Little Different
by KatelynHaven
Summary: The first training camp is here! It's a time when concour participants develop their talents in classical music, but there seems to be something else that's being developed. What is violinist Hanami Raily to do?- Finally updated!
1. Getting Married

**NOTE:**

**Hey guys, I'm sorry it took me sooo soo long to update. I've changed/ added some details in the previous chapters since I realized that there are actually a lot of errors in this story. It's up to you if you want to reread those chapters, but I think it would really be better if you did. :D **

**Btw, I was so touched to see that a lot of you actually put me on their favorites despite my veeeery long updating. Thank you! You guys motivated me to push through with this. :) **

**Well, here's the new version of A Little Different + 2 new chapters I think? lol Hope you enjoy it! Please continue to read and review!  
**

** -Katelyn**

* * *

Chapter 1

Getting Married

It was an average Sunday morning for Raily Hanami and her mom, Ayane. Raily was sleepily eating her favorite breakfast, buttered toast, while her mom was drinking coffee and reading today's newspaper. It was all good and silent until Ayane set down her newspaper and cleared her throat.

Glancing up at her mom, Raily raised a brow.

"Honey…" Ayane met Raily's gaze. "I need to tell you something."

Raily swallowed her toast and rubbed her eyes. "Mmkay. What?"

"Do you remember the kind man who had dinner with us the other night?" Ayane asked.

"Yeah…." Raily didn't think that she could _ever_ forget him even if she wanted to. "What about him?"

The man, Yunoki Takashi, was a rich reserved guy who owned the flower shop Ayane works in. Raily could never forget the awkward silence at the table when Takashi had dinner with them. He hardly talked much- only when he is asked a direct question and when necessary- plus he has this cold stare. Raily wondered how Takashi kept a straight face all the time, considering he _owns_ a flower shop. And considering his employee (Ayane) is such a cheerful and lively person. It's weird to think about how those two people actually interact with each other.

"Yes, um, I…" Ayane tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "You see..."

Raily narrowed her eyes at her mom. The last time she has ever seen her mom this fidgety was when she was about to tell Raily that her dad left them for some young bitch and that he's never coming back. That was ten years ago. The only difference with this time is that her mom looked like she was in a more happy-nervous mood. _What the heck is going on? She's blushing!_

"He's…" Ayane started.

"He's what?"

"Actually, we…" Ayane took a deep breath. "We're engaged."

"Engaged." Raily repeated. "Okay. So you're engaged… in what exactly?" She bit onto her toast and looked enquiringly at her mom.

"Honey, engaged. As in, we decided to get _married_."

Raily stared for a long time before she burst out laughing. "That's a good one, mom."

"It's true, honey. He proposed to me last night and I- well, I agreed." Ayane showed Raily the mega-huge diamond ring in her finger.

"HOLY-" Raily almost choked on the bread she was chewing after hearing what her mom had just announced.

"The truth is, we've been thinking about it for a while now and we just decided now is the time."

"**MOM!** Why?! _How_?!"

Raily didn't even know that Ayane and Takashi were going out. I mean, sure love can blossom between these two single parents. Ayane's still gorgeous with her auburn hair and lake blue eyes, and Takashi can be handsomely creepy with his violet hair and dark eyes but why would her mom want to MARRY a stiff robot like _him?_ Nuh-uh. No way in hell.

"Honey, please, calm down." Ayane soothed. "I know it must be sudden and I mean with you and his kids-"

"Oh, _god_." Raily's eyes widen horror at the mention of the guy's _kids. _They'll all be miniature versions of Takashi no doubt.

"-We'll all going to be living together now-"

"No, no, no, NO."

"It's not as bad as you think." Ayane said. "Out of Takashi's three sons, two of them are already in college so it'll be just his youngest son and his only daughter in the house."

"Am I supposed to be happy about that?" Raily retorted.

"Raily, I know it will be different for everyone but I think that this will be a start of something new. I'm sure you'll just love the nice big house in the city."

_Hold up. Did she just say house in the _city_? Who's_ damn_ house?!_

"What did you say?" Raily drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh, um, we're going to be living in Takashi's house." Ayane said quickly.

"His… his… house?" Raily asked, her heart beating fast.

"Well, we can't all fit here, with Takashi, his kids and his mother also lives there." Ayane explained. "And his house is in the inner city so it will be better."

Raily gasped. "We're going to leave this place?"

Ayane nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, honey, it's just that I know this will be great for you. We can't keep on living here. You don't get enough education and I-" Ayane stopped short and looked straight at Raily. "We need him, Raily. You need a father."

"I-… I… need to…." Raily stood up and ran upstairs to her room.

"Raily!" Ayane called after her.

Ignoring her mom, Raily shut the door in her room and threw herself to the bed.

She stared at the ceiling and thought out loud. "We're just gonna leave? What about my friends dammit! Everything's here!"

"My life's here…" Raily closed her eyes. "Mom, we don't belong there."

She rolled over to the side and rolled over some more until she caught sight of her antic violin near the wall. She had bought it in an antic shop a year ago and it became one of the most important things in her life.

Raily got up from bed, picked up her violin and played her heart out. She vented out her frustrations, her anger, her sadness and her pain through the melody. When she was finally tired, she fell asleep on the floor crying.

After hours have past, she woke up hearing her stomach grumble. She didn't know crying can make her so damn hungry. She washed her tear-strained face and was about to go down to the kitchen when she heard her mom talking in the phone from the hallway. Hoping her mom wouldn't see her, Raily quickly tiptoed back to her room, leaving her door a bit open.

"Takashi…" Ayane said.

Raily was shocked to hear her mom's voice. It sounded weak and strained. It sounded helpless.

"I don't know…. She's in her room right now." Ayane ran a hand through her hair. "I heard her playing the violin… she sounded so hurt and angry."

Raily lowered her eyes and clenched her fists.

"Maybe… Maybe we should just forget about it." Ayane said. "Maybe…. We should… but Takashi… no, it's not that…. I'm sorry." Ayane shook her head. "I just can't do this to my daughter."

Raily suddenly felt pain sting her heart. It's been just her mom and her for the past ten years and Raily knows how Ayane was still sad over her dad leaving them.

"Thank you, Takashi… I love you too." Ayane hung up the phone and held it to her chest.

_I can't destroy her happiness. She just found a man she loves. I'm being too selfish. _Raily muttered a curse before slowly approaching Ayane. "Mom…"

Ayane looked up surprised. "R-Raily…."

"I'm sorry." Raily whispered.

Ayane put her arms around Raily. "You don't need to apologize, honey. I guess this is too big of a decision."

"Mom…" Raily embraced her mom back. "You really love him, huh?"

Ayane smiled. "Yes, I do." She pulled away from Raily and looked at her in the eyes. "But that doesn't mean I love you any less. Your feelings in this are also important."

The two of them stayed that way for a long time until the clock made a sound and notified them it was already 7 pm.

"I'll get dinner ready. You haven't eaten anything since breakfast." Ayane stood up, went downstairs and prepared their dinner.

Raily went down too and helped Ayane with setting the table.

After a few minutes of contemplation during dinnertime, Raily was sure she had finally come to a decision. A decision which she hoped she and her mom wouldn't regret later.

"I'll go, mom." Raily said. "If it's really what you want, then I'll go."

Ayane reached for her daughter's hand and squeezed it. "Are you sure?"

Raily nodded.

"Oh honey, thank you." Ayane smiled. "I'm sure things will be better for us."

"Yeah…" Raily looked down at her plate and picked on her food with a fork. "But what about school? I'm still in the middle of my second year in high school."

All throughout her school life, she's been studying at Jared High, a public school in their town. Raily scowled at the thought of studying in a bratty high-maintenance academy for spoiled, uptight, snobby, rich kids.

"Well, you'll be attending Seiso Academy as a music student. You've always wanted to take proper classes in violin right? And you like playing it."

_Sounds like a spoiled rich kids' school to me. _Raily shrugged. "But why not a normal school?"

"Actually Seiso was Takashi's idea. You see, his youngest son is a musician and he studies there too. Takashi's already taken care of your application and everything."

"Ah," Raily grip tightened on the fork._ How long have they been planning on this? Fine, things will be better, that's what mom said. Remember that._

"If you don't like Seiso, we can transfer you to another school." Ayane suddenly said after a while. "But I think you should give it a chance. Maybe for a week?"

"I guess." Raily shrugged again. "When are we leaving?"

"Is the day after tomorrow too soon?" Ayane asked gently. "I know you have to say your goodbyes to your friends and…"

"It's fine." Raily interrupted. "Just fine."

The next day, 9 in the evening:

"HANAMI!!!" A high-pitched voice suddenly made Raily groan inwardly.

_Donna. What the fuck is she doing here?! _Raily tried to ignore the person and go back to sleep but she was just too persistent in waking Raily.

"HANAMI! GET UP!"

Raily pulled the covers over her head. _Go away, Donna. Just go._

"Oh no you _don't_!" Donna gathered up her strength and yanked the covers from Raily. "Get up! NOW! Don't make me get the bucket of water."

"Alright, alright." Raily opened her eyes and slowly sat up. "What the hell is wrong with you? It's 9 pm and I am seriously sleepy, Donna."

"There's no way you would sleep this early, Hanami." Donna crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, last names now huh? Since when do you call me by my last name?"

Donna ignored her. "I haven't seen you all day and you weren't answering my calls so you leave me no choice but to come here."

"Well, you're here now." Raily muttered. "What's the deal?"

"What's the _deal_?" Donna glared down at Raily. "What about what's _your_ deal?"

Raily held onto her pillow and hugged it. "Yeah? What about me?"

"You didn't go to school today." Donna stated. "Why?"

Raily decided to play dumb. "Well, it's a Monday. You know I hate Mondays."

"Don't even give me that excuse." Donna said angrily. "I already know about everything, okay?!"

Raily looked down and didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you tell me about your mom getting married?" Donna demanded. "Why didn't you tell me you were _leaving_?!"

Raily clutched the pillow tighter to her chest, still saying nothing.

"Honestly, were you even _planning_ to tell me?"

Raily hesitated. "Not really."

"Not really." Donna echoed. "I can't believe this, Raily. You used to tell me e_verything._"

"Look, I'm sorry, ok? I just…" Raily stopped and lowered her head to the pillow.

Donna let out a heavy sigh before sitting down next to Raily in the bed. She saw 3 bags all packed up and her violin case ready for moving in the corner of Raily's room. "You know… what upset me was that you didn't tell me about this." Donna said softly. "I had to hear it from other people that you're leaving because your mom's remarrying that flower shop man who lives in the posh city."

Raily remained unmoved in the pillow, silently listening to Donna.

"I know this must be hard for you and stuff, but you can tell me anything." Donna continued. "You can complain to me, shout at me, vent out on me, and even hit me. Well, as long as you let me hit you back after you're done with your moment."

Raily gave a muffled laugh and Donna smiled.

"You know, the whole class was sad when they heard you're leaving."

Raily just shook her head.

"Rai, I'll always be on your side, no matter how far you're going to be. Nothing's gonna change that." Donna said softly but seriously.

Raily blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. The reason she hadn't told Donna about her departure was because she knows it will be too hard and too sad. Too much to say goodbye to her best friend. She knows she'll never have a best friend as great as Donna. I mean, how often can she find someone who would come barging into her room at 9 in the evening to confront her and then comfort her like Donna did?

"I can probably visit you sometimes. I'm sure it's not that far." Donna suggested. "Or you can visit us here."

When Raily didn't respond, Donna gave a defeated sigh. "You'll probably just find new friends-"

"You're my best friend. Do you know that?" Raily interrupted as her hold on the pillow loosened.

Donna laughed and looped her arm around Raily. "Yeah, I know. I was gonna say you'll probably just find new friends who would never be as great as _me_ in your new school."

Raily laughed too and now the pillow was completely out of her hold. "I'm gonna be in _Seiso _as a music student_._ Can you believe that shit?"

"Seiso huh?" Donna made a humming sound. "Doesn't sound that bad, although you'd probably tear the place down in just one week."

Raily smirked. "You make it sound like I'm a delinquent."

"I did?" Donna pulled away her arm from Raily made a surprised face. "No way."

"I probably won't fit in there, anyway."

"Hey," Donna met her gaze. "You're gonna do great there and you're going to show those inner-city kids what a real violinist can do."

"Yeah, you're right." Raily smiled. "No rich-ass kid is gonna bring me down."

It was silent for a while.

"You're going to make it into the Christmas concert right? Our duet?" Donna asked.

"Of course, I'll be there."

"Good." Donna chuckled. "Because I'm not gonna play the trumpet on the concert without you playing the violin with me. Remember that the success of the concert depends on our performance." Donna winked.

"Heh, you better practice the piece." Raily smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Donna glanced at her watch and jumped up involuntarily. "Oh no, I gotta get back! I'll come here first thing in the morning and we can go to school-"

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning." Raily said quietly.

Donna froze. "What? That's too soon!"

Smiling sadly, Raily stood up and hugged her best friend. "Thank you so much, Donna. I'll miss you. Say goodbye to the others for me."

"Raily…." Donna hugged her back tightly. "Promise me that you'll take care over there ok? Do your best. We'll always be here for you when you need anything."

"Ok, enough of this." Raily pulled back and punched Donna lightly on the arm. "You better not forget me, or I'll kick your butt to the South Pole."

Donna punched her back with the same force. "I'll write to you as much as I can, you moody girl."

Raily laughed and gently shoved Donna towards the door. "Go home, man. Musaki-san will freak if she found out you sneaked out again."

"I'm sure mom won't mind if I sleep over," Donna grinned.

As tempting as it was, Raily shook her head to that. "You need to go,"

"Okay, okay," Donna hesitantly turned the doorknob, opened the door and walked out.

Raily stared at the door and was surprised when Donna called out.

"You better make it to the concert!"

Raily smiled and called back. "I will!"

She then heard Donna go down the stairs, and out the front door.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Meeting the Yunoki Sibs

Chapter 2

Meeting the Yunoki Sibs

* * *

The next day, TUESDAY: Around 4 in the afternoon:

"Raily honey, we're here."

Raily was sleeping peacefully when she felt a hand shake her shoulders and heard her mom calling her.

She slowly opened her eyes to see the ferry had already arrived at the dock of the inner city. The sight of houses and stores everywhere being surrounded by people instantly notified Raily that she's in the other side. Because compared to Raily's small town, this place looked ultra-modern and ultra-populated. _Great. Just great._

Raily was busy studying the city when Ayane touched her arm lightly.

"Are you sure you don't want to change?" Ayane asked for the millionth time that day. "Because, well, don't you think it's too… improper?"

Raily had long straight black hair which she always kept down with bangs parted to the side, showing the same blue eyes as her mom's. Dressed in a white tee, beach shorts and flip flops, she looked nothing like the kind of people walking around in the inner city with their fancy getup.

"I always wear clothes like these." Raily shrugged. "I want to be comfortable _wherever_ I may be."

Ayane sighed and straightened her own skirt. She was wearing her best blouse and skirt for this day.

"We're going to our new home now." Ayane smiled.

"New home." Raily repeated. It sounded strange and foreign.

When they have unloaded their things and got down from the ferry, a man dressed in uniform was waving the sign _Hanami Ayane and daughter._

Ayane's face lit up visibly as she walked towards the man. Raily slowly followed behind her mom.

"You must be Ayane-sama and Raily-sama." The man bowed.

"Raily-_sama_?" Raily snickered.

Ayane gave Raily a stern look before smiling at the man. "Yes, that's us. You must be Takashi's chauffeur."

The chauffeur bowed again before taking their bags. "Please follow me to the car."

When they were inside the car and heading to Takashi's house, Ayane asked the chauffeur where her soon-to-be-husband is.

"Takashi-sama is in a meeting now but he will be home for dinner." The man replied. "He sends his apologies for not being able to meet you now."

Raily rolled her eyes. Typical rich bastard. Too busy working for family.

The rest of the ride was pretty silent. Railey glanced at her mom and saw she was shifting uncomfortably in her seat, probably preparing herself in meeting Takashi's family.

"Relax, mom." Raily sighed. "You're making me nervous."

Ayane gave her a wobbly smile. "I just hope Takashi's kids will like me."

"Don't worry so much, mom." Raily muttered. "I'm sure they'll like you."

The car stopped and the chauffeur got out of the driver's seat and pulled open the door for Raily and Ayane.

"Well, here it goes." Ayane took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, facing the Yunoki residence.

"Fuck this." Raily rolled her eyes.

Once she stepped out of the car, she felt her jaw hang down when she saw Takashi's house. She expected a grand mansion- with tall steel gates and statues all around- but right in front of her was a traditional Japanese house.

"Not expecting this, huh?" Ayane chuckled as she knocked on the front door. "Takashi's family has a flower business, remember?"

Raily whistled. "What surprising news."

The door opened, and a pretty teenaged girl with black hair greeted them with a radiant smile. "Ah, Ayane-san, Raily-san, you're finally here!"

Ayane smiled back. "You must be Miyabi-chan."

"Yes, that's me." Miyabi opened the door wider. "Please come in, Nii-san is inside."

Again, Raily was caught off guard when she saw the garden around the house. They have a freaking koi pond and the inside is HUGE! There was a long-haired, feminine-looking male wearing a tuxedo standing nearby. Really, he was just standing there mindlessly while staring at something in the pond and on his hand was a flute. His suit so doesn't match the calming background but his hair does, though. With his hair all flowing with the wind…

"Nii-san," Miyabi called to him.

_Hmm, it seems they're here. _Azuma turned, recognized the familiar faces he saw in a picture Takashi once showed him, and then with big, smooth movements he was by their side. "It is very pleasant to finally meet you, Ayane-san." Azuma bowed and gave her his most charming smile. "I am Yunoki Azuma."

"Oh, um," Ayane gave a nervous laugh. "It's also nice to meet you, Azuma-kun." She turned to Raily. "This is my daughter Raily, and um honey… this is Takashi's youngest son."

Raily stared at him. Well, rather his hair. _He thinks he's so smooth, with his fancy suit and silky hair. God, how does he tend to his hair? I mean he's a _guy_! What kind of expensive secretive shit does he use?_

Azuma was staring back at her too. Having his own thoughts on where Raily had come from. Azuma's father had drilled him into wearing his best suit to meet Ayane and her daughter. So how come this Raily comes here, with her flip flops like she's slumming to the beach?

Miyabi must've noticed their staring at each other intensely because she suddenly asked if they wanted to see Raily's and Ayane's rooms.

"Yes, please. You'd like to see your room too, right Raily?" Ayane asked a bit too loudly.

Raily blinked and turned back to her mom. "Uh, yeah, sure."

They all went inside and Miyabi had asked them to take off their shoes and wear the house slippers. Raily smirked as she put on the padded slippers provided. Miyabi then led the way towards their rooms.

"Here we are, Raily-san, this is your room." Miyabi slid the door open and Raily saw all her things were already in the room.

_How'd they get there before I did? _Raily slowly stepped inside and looked around. It was a huge spacious room with absolutely nothing in it. There was a window, a bed, a desk with chair, a lamp, a dresser. The wooden walls were bare and there was an AC; Miyabi said every room had one.

"What do you think, Honey, it's lovely isn't it?" Ayane laid her hand in Raily's shoulder.

The two Yunoki siblings were looking at Raily expectantly.

Raily blinked. "Yeah, it's…. really big." Raily then forced a smile and added silently to herself. "Like hell would I think this empty place is lovely."

"I'm glad you like your room, Raily-san. Obaa-sama likes everything to be simple and orderly." Miyami then turned to Ayane. "Shall we go to your room, Ayane-san?"

"Oh, of course." Ayane walked beside the girl and Raily followed in the back with Azuma.

"Ayane-san, you'll be sleeping with Otou-sama in the master bedroom." Miyabi stated.

Azuma, who was silently watching Raily's every move and expression from the start, pressed a hand in his mouth to stop himself from laughing at Raily's reaction when she heard that.

"The master bedroom is the best room in the house." Miyabi was saying. "It has a bathroom with a built-in hot tub for you and Otou-sama."

Now, Azuma really couldn't control himself anymore as laughter escaped his lips.

Realizing she was gaping like an idiot with her eyes as wide as eggs, Raily shut her mouth and glanced to her side to see Azuma's shoulders shaking from laughter. She looked in front and saw that Miyabi and Ayane were both engrossed in conversation. That long-haired creep was actually laughing at_ her_.

"What's funny?" Raily hissed at him.

Azuma stopped laughing and fixed the collar of his suit. "I just remembered something from a movie, I apologize."

"Like hell, you did." Raily glared at him and walked ahead.

_Interesting, very interesting. _Azuma smiled and slowly followed her.

"Here it is." Miyabi slid the door open and let everyone look inside.

"This is the master bedroom?" Raily asked, amused. "As in Takashi- I mean Takashi-san's room?"

"Yes, it is."

The room was big alright, bigger than Raily's, and except for the personal bathroom with the hot tub, it looked absolutely the same as Raily's empty room. With only a painting in the wall for design and not a single personal item in sight. No framed pictures, no guy stuff, none.

"M-om, don't you just _love_ it?" Raily feigned enthusiasm.

Ayane was stunned. She hadn't expected Takashi's room to be so… so untouched.

"I…" Ayane bit her upper lip. "I like it."

"I'm so glad." Miyabi said happily.

"Ayane-san, Raily-san, why don't we have some tea and cakes?" Azuma suggested to all of them. "Both of you must be hungry from the trip."

"Why, that sounds wonderful, right, Rai?" Ayane asked.

"Yeah, wonderful." Raily forced another smile. She doubt she'll ever get used to living in this house.

Everyone proceeded into the living room and sat down on the cushions. With Raily sitting beside her mom and across Azuma.

Miyabi and Ayane instantly started having a conversation about Takashi and the household. The two of them had gotten that close already. Azuma and Raily on the other hand, just stared awkwardly at the cups of tea in the table.

"So," Azuma said, breaking the silence. "How was your trip, Raily-san?"

"Not bad." Raily's throat suddenly felt dry. She got her cup, sipped her tea and froze.

Noticing this, Azuma looked at her questioningly.

Raily just smiled and sipped her drink again. _Ahhhh…. My god, it tastes so _damn_ good. Wonder what kind of tea is this. It's the first time I drank anything like this._

"It's Red Tea."

"What?" Raily blinked and looked at Azuma. It was as if he read her mind or something.

"The tea served today is Red Tea. It's really calmingly mild but sweet at the same time, don't you think so?" Azuma smiled.

"Y…yeah." That definitely added some ten more points to the creepiness scale in Raily's impression of Azuma.

"Perhaps you would like to have some more?" Azuma asked.

"No, I'm fine." Raily ran a hand through her dark hair. "Don't you and the girl have things to do, like school? I mean it's Tuesday today right?"

Azuma shook his head. "Otou-sama asked us to stay home and welcome you."

"Oh, wow, how nice of him." Raily said.

Azuma noted the sarcasm in her voice and looked at her curiously. "What year are you in, Raily-san?"

"Second year." Raily replied. "You?"

"I'm in the third year, my last year in high school."

Raily nodded. "So you're older than me."

Azuma thought of something and laughed inwardly. "Yes, you're right. I suppose you can call me your Nii-san."

_Nii-san?! _Raily impulsively straightened up and knocked the table in between them, spilling the drinks on the table.

"I am _so_ sorry. I'll clean it up, where's the kitchen?" Raily quickly stood up and went for the door when the girl stopped her.

"Raily-san, it's alright. We can ask the maid to clean it up. She'll be here shortly." The girl gave her an assuring smile.

"Right," Raily started thinking of an excuse to get away from the creepy Azuma. "I uh, need to use the toilet." She slid the door open and stepped outside.

Having nowhere else to go, she thought about roaming around the house.

After checking out the different rooms, she finally came to a conclusion that all rooms in the goddamn house looked the same. The girl's room, Azuma's room, the maids' rooms, the guest rooms, all empty and plain. Only the size differs. On her way back to the living room where everyone was, she caught sight of one more room she hadn't been to yet and she was about to slide the door open when a hand touched her lightly on the elbow.

Jumping back in surprise, she turned and saw Azuma standing behind her.

"What- what are you doing here?" Raily narrowed her eyes at him.

Azuma quickly dragged her away until they were in a safe distance away from the door.

Raily pulled her arm away from his grasp and looked at him like he was crazy. "What the heck, man?"

"Raily-san," Azuma said slowly. "That was Obaa-sama's room."

"Obaa-sama? Takashi's- I mean, Takashi-san's mom? Is she in there?"

"Yes. She's been busy with something for the past few days." Azuma face stiffened and he looked at her seriously. "It would be best if you don't bother her."

Raily was shocked at how Azuma's charming personality suddenly changed at that point. "Why? You're scared of your own grandmother?"

"She's the law here, that's all you need to know." Azuma said before smiling again. "Your mother must be getting worried, why don't we go back now?"

Raily glanced at the door to Obaa-sama's room before following Azuma. He was about to reach for the door to the living room, when it suddenly slid open and Miyabi came into view.

"Raily-san, your mother told me to tell you that she's going to rest in her bedroom for a while until Otou-sama comes home." Miyabi said before smiling at Azuma. "Nii-san, your friends are here."

"Friends?" Azuma and Raily looked over Miyabi's shoulder and saw all the Concour participants, talking and laughing in the living room. All of them were present. As in all.

End of Chapter 2


	3. The Grand Musicians of Seiso

Chapter 3

The Grand Musicians of Seiso

* * *

"_Friends?"_ Azuma and Raily looked over the girl's shoulder and saw all the Concour participants, talking and laughing in the living room. All of them were present.

"Well then, I'll be going back to my room to do some homework." Miyabi gave a graceful little bow and walked past them.

"Ah! Yunoki!" Kazuki jumped up and waved wildly at Azuma.

Azuma returned his wave with a smile and nod.

"Yeah, I just remembered that I have homework too. 'Ja." Raily was about a few feet away when Azuma called her.

She hesitantly turned around and faced Azuma smiling serenely at her.

"Raily-_chan_," Azuma's eyes were shining with amusement. "It's your first day of school tomorrow. Why would you have homework?"

Raily flinched. Busted.

"Don't you want to meet my friends?" Azuma put a finger in his chin. "Is there something wrong with them?"

Raily grudgingly went inside the room with Azuma and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. The two of them sat down on the cushions and Raily squirmed in her seat, feeling uncomfortable with the stares she's getting.

_Damn rich kids._ Raily cursed inside.

"Hihara… everyone…" Azuma said, trying to break the silence. "What are you doing here?"

Everyone was still stunned and Azuma had to repeat the question again.

"Uh…" Ryoutarou took his eyes off Raily for a moment and glanced at Azuma. "Hihara-senpai was worried because you didn't go to school today."

"Yeah, and… so we thought we'd visit you. To see if…" Kazuki didn't get to finish because at that point, Raily started speaking in this eerie and unnatural voice.

"It would be great if you stop staring at me." Raily gave them a smile which was more pissed than happy. "Cause you know, I might get the wrong idea and that _wouldn't_ be so pleasant."

The Concour participants- except Shimizu Keichii - all looked away from her, startled to be caught like that. For some reason, Keichii kept on staring at her, as if he's seen her before and he's trying to recall where and when.

"Oh, that's right." Azuma smiled and gestured to Raily. "Everyone, this is Hanami Raily, she's going to be a second year music student in Seiso starting tomorrow."

Kazuki was suddenly in deep thought. _I didn't know girls like her were Yunoki's type… I seriously didn't expect that. I wonder how long Yunoki has liked her. Well… if he's happy…_

"Hanami-chan," Kazuki happily shook her hand. "I'm Hihara Kazuki, third year. It's _really _nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, okay, okay." Raily eyed him and pulled her hand away. _Why's he suddenly so happy?_

"I'm Tsuchiura Ryoutarou, second year." Ryoutarou gave her a little smile.

Raily gave him a nod. "Hey."

"I-I'm… F-fuyuu…mi Shou…Shouko. First year." Shouko blushed.

Raily couldn't help but smile at her cute shy personality.

"I'm Hino Kahoko, also a second year." Kahoko smiled brightly. "I hope we can become good friends."

"Yeah, good to meet you." Raily replied.

"Shimizu Keichii." The sleepy boy murmured. "First year."

Raily fought the urge to hug the kid and ruffle the cute kid's head. He's too darn cute.

"Tsukimori-kun, introduce yourself." Kahoko nudged Len.

"Tsukimori Len, second year." Len crossed his arms over his chest and wrinkled his nose at her.

Raily's eyelid twitched. _Now that's an arrogant fish head._

"So,… do you all study in Seiso?" Raily asked with a forced smile.

Everyone nodded in reply.

"Eh? Why does Hino have a different uniform?"

"She and Tsuchiura are General Ed students." Azuma answered. "We're from the Music Ed."

"Ah…" Raily mumbled. "The place must be totally big then."

"Don't worry. We'll be here for you when you need any help in school." Kazuki paused. "Although, with _Yunoki_ around, you probably have all the help you need, right Hanami-chan?" Kazuki grinned at her knowingly.

Raily turned to Azuma and glared at him. As if saying: _What the hell was that all about?_

Shrugging, Azuma just smiled innocently.

"So… is everyone going to the training camp this Saturday?" Kahoko asked, after sensing killing intent flaring from Raily.

"Oh, yes, the training camp." Azuma forgot about that. All the excitement with Raily and her mom's arrival had him occupied.

"Wait," Raily said. "What training camp?"

"It's a training camp for the second selection of the Concours." Kahoko informed.

"Uh-huh…" Raily tilted her head to side.

"The Concours is a competition on classical music." Azuma explained. "We're all participants in it."

"Ohhh…" Raily nodded. _A contest between musicians to show off skills huh?_

"But Hino is a Gen Ed student." Raily blurted out. "She's also a participant?"

"Yes. Tsuchiura-kun and Hino-san are… special." Azuma said. "Even though they're not Music Ed students, they play their instruments very well."

"Hm? You guys must be pretty good then." Raily smirked.

Kahoko blushed at the remark. "I- I'm not that good yet."

"Ne Yunoki…" Kazuki started. "When were you going to tell us that you already have a girlfriend?"

"Oh? And who might that be?" Azuma asked smilingly.

"It's Hanami-chan, right?"

Raily choked on her saliva. _**WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!**_

"Hanami-san?" Kahoko looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Azuma again watched amused at Raily's reaction. "Raily-chan, here, have some tea." He passed her a cup.

Raily instantly took the cup, downing its contents in one go. _GIRLFRIEND?!! So that's why they were acting weird! Especially that Hihara! They think I'm his-_

"So, she's not your girlfriend?" Ryoutaro asked.

"_**NO**_!" Raily coughed out. "No feaking way."

Azuma chuckled. "No, she's not my girlfriend. Actually, her mom is going to marry my Otou-sama."

"S-so,… Hanami-san, is… going, going to be…" Shouko stammered.

"Yunoki-senpai's step sister." Kahoko gasped.

"I didn't know that Yunoki's father is getting married." Kazuki mused.

"Yes, well, it was sudden." Azuma answered. "The wedding date has not yet been decided."

Raily cringed at the mention of _wedding. _

"Hanami-san," Len was studying her. "Where's your hometown?"

"My hometown?" Raily blinked at the sudden question. "Why?"

"I just thought that you don't look like you're from around here." Len answered coolly. _Translation: You don't look like someone urban enough- or rich enough- the Yunoki family will accept._

"I'm not from 'around here'. I'm from a beautiful town in the North." Raily said with as much pride as she can. _Die, you arrogant bastard._

"I see." Len said.

He said those two words in this snotty way that made Raily want to strangle the heck out of him.

"The Kizami Falls Concert." Keichii suddenly blurted out.

Raily's head jerked up at the mention of that, while the others looked back at Keichii, confused.

"I've seen Hanami-senpai before in a small concert by the Kizami Falls." Keichii turned to Raily. "You were playing the violin."

"Yeah…" Raily peered at him curiously. "You've been to my town in the North?"

Keichii nodded. "I went there for vacation with my parents two years ago."

"Oh…" Raily blushed. "I was just a beginner back then, so I sucked big time."

"No," Keichii shook his head and looked at her approvingly. "It was beautiful."

That made Raily smile a bit. _Aww, the kid thought I played beautiful music- I know I obviously sucked that time. I guess there are some pretty nice people here._

"Although if I'm not mistaken, there was a part where you got lost…"

Raily sweatdropped. "Yeah, it was my first performance you see. So, it got my nerves jumpy and everything."

"But you covered up pretty well, Hanami-san." Keichii commented.

"Uhm, thanks." Raily's starting to like this kid.

"Wow, it must be amazing to perform in such a concert." Kahoko chimed in.

Raily shrugged. "I guess it was fun. What instrument do you play?"

"I play the violin too." Kahoko smiled. "Although I'm probably not as good as you and our grand violinist over here." She gestured to Len.

Raily stared at him for a moment. "You play the violin??"

"I specialize in violin." Len said stiffly. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all. I'm just _sure_ you bring the house down every time you perform." Raily said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Ryoutaro tried to stifle his laughter at that comment. "Yeah, he actually does, for sure."

Len's vein popped. Even though he hadn't understood what 'bring the house down' meant, he knew they were both mocking him.

Raily inwardly laughed triumphantly at the sight of him. "Hey dude, you're pulsating over there."

"Eto, Fuyumi-chan's very good in playing the clarinet." Kahoko said, trying once again to ease the killing intent present in the room.

Raily fluttered her eyelashes at Len before turning to Shouko. "Clarinet huh? I've never seen a clarinet before..." Raily trailed off. "Do you like hit it or something like that?"

"Um…. N-no.." Shouko blushed as Ryoutaro and Kazuki laughed.

"What's funny?" Raily asked annoyed.

"Hanami-chan, a clarinet is a wind instrument." Kazuki enlightened.

"Whatever." Raily cleared her throat. "Trumpets are wind too right?"

"Yup! I play the trumpet!" Kazuki announced proudly.

At that moment, the door opened and revealed Ayane holding onto Takashi's arm.

"Raily, Takashi's home!" Ayane said affectionately.

Takashi fixed his gaze on Raily and gave her a curt nod. He then did the same to his son, Azuma. Raily put on a smile that she hoped wouldn't look too forced. She really can't deal with stiff robots like Takashi.

"We're about to have dinner. Will your friends be joining us, Azuma-kun?" Ayane asked.

The concour participants glanced at each other.

"Thank you, but we must be getting back now." Len said so politely that Raily

wanted to barf.

"Yes, we wouldn't want to intrude." Kahoko smiled.

"Well, okay," Ayane said. "It had been nice meeting you all,"

The participants all stood up, said their farewells and left the Yunoki residence. Ayane and the others all sat in the long dining table.

"Our first dinner together." Ayane said happily as she looked at the faces around her.

Azuma and the girl smiled politely at her while Raily was busy drooling over the food in front of her. There were so many she didn't know where to start. _Shit, if this dreaded household would serve such a huge selection of delicious food every time we eat, I might actually like it here. _She was about to get herself some mouth-watering, thick creamy soup when Takashi said something unnerving.

"We have an announcement to make about the wedding."

Raily groaned inside. _Oh, god. What will it be?  
_

"The wedding will be held at the New England Church and the reception will take place at the Grand Imperial Hotel." Takashi looked back at Raily and his kids. "The wedding will be two months from now."

"Excuse me?" Raily dropped the spoon she was holding and stared at him.

Takashi repeated what he had said.

"No way." Raily gaped. "Why so soon??"

"In my opinion it is actually quite late," Takashi raised one of his brows at her. "We should formally welcome you into the society, and into the Yunoki family."

Ayane was so touched; there were tears forming in her eyes.

"You didn't even answer my question, dammit." Raily muttered to herself.

"I have already sent the invitations." Takashi added. "So far we have 200 guests."

"200?!" Only Raily was shocked at this. Azuma and the girl seemed to find it very normal.

"But it's still not final. I suppose we have to invite more people," Takashi said.

"Otou-sama, I would like to play a piece for the event." Azuma offered.

Takashi considered this. "Very well, I've already arranged for a Viennese Orchestra, I suppose you can play in the reception. Are there any more who will perform?"

"How about it, Raily-san?" Azuma smiled at her. "Why not play a piece?"

Raily glanced at her mom. "Yeah, it's alright, I guess."

Ayane gave her a grateful smile and Raily just nodded back.

End of Chapter 3

* * *

Heyhey

I think I just added some minor, very minor stuff here lol. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter more! :)

-Katelyn


	4. Raily's Secret

Chapter 4

Raily's Secret

* * *

The next Morning: WEDNESDAY

"Urg. Goddamit." Raily scowled at the dining table.

"You look unwell, Raily-san. Didn't you sleep well last night?" Azuma asked while taking a drink of his morning tea.

Takashi, Ayane and Miyabi had to leave early so Azuma and Raily were the only ones left who were eating breakfast at home.

"I just remembered that school starts today." Raily muttered and stuffed some toast in her mouth.

Azuma, as always, observed her with much amusement. "You don't want to go to school?"

"Does it look like I enjoy first days of school?" Raily gave him a dark look before reaching for another buttered toast.

"No," Azuma eyed the slice of bread she was holding. _How many has she eaten?_

He then recalled what had happened last night. As soon as they had finished their discussion about the wedding, Raily transformed into an eating monster. Though he was famous for being so keen and observant, Azuma had to admit that he had lost count of how many servings of meat, fish, potatoes, tofu and dumplings Raily had gobbled down during dinner. He had never seen anyone- particularly a girl- eat that much plates of Fried Rice and bowls of Cream Soup in his entire life. After dinner, Ayane apologized for the behavior of Raily, saying that she was probably just tired of the trip and that normally she doesn't eat that much so there's nothing to be concerned about.

Now, Azuma was beginning to wonder if that's really accurate OR healthy.

"Are you even listening to me?" Raily bit on her toast grumpily.

"Yes, yes. Of course, please continue." Azuma saw her get another piece of toast. _That's got to be the sixth… _

Raily rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I hate your school's uniform. Why the hell did they make it like this? I'm sure that-"

"No, it's got to be the seventh…" Azuma nodded to himself until he realized that he had just said that out loud.

"-What's got to be the seventh?" Raily raised a brow at him.

"…………." Azuma thought of a something good to say. "You seem to like buttered toast, Raily-san?" Real smooth, Azuma.

Raily raised her brow higher. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing at all. I was just mumbling to myself, I apologize." Azuma said quickly. Who knows what'll happen if he commented about her eating.

After a while, the maid informed them that the car is already ready to take them to school. Both of them got their instruments and went out. Azuma got in the car then noticed that Raily was still standing outside, with a frown on her face.

"What's the matter?" Azuma asked her.

"I've wondered since yesterday. Why do all your cars have tinted windows?" Raily knitted her eyebrows together.

Azuma blinked. He's never thought about that before. "Well, it's for security purposes. Please get in the car, Raily-san, or we'll be late."

Raily didn't budge. "Security? Why?"

"It's not that big of a matter." Azuma sighed. "Can we please go?"

"Aren't you bothered by it?"

Azuma's brows rose. "Bothered by what?"

"I mean, how can you see the city through these tinted windows?" Raily said.

"We can see everything from inside the car."

"Well, don't you get tired of it?"

Azuma smiled patiently at her. "If it's Obaa-sama's wishes, then it's for the best. I don't plan on disagreeing at something so little as tinted windows."

Raily glanced up at the roof of the car and then suddenly, a smile formed in her lips.

"What are you thinking?" Azuma could sense she was up to no good. _Why does she keep looking at the roof of the car?_

Wordlessly, she put her violin case inside the car, closed the door and climbed up to the very roof of the car.

"R-raily-sama!" The chauffeur cried out fearfully.

"I didn't get to see the city yesterday." Raily positioned herself comfortably, considering she's wearing such a short skirt. "And I think now is a good time for some sight-seeing."

"This really isn't necessary, Raily-san." Azuma reasoned. "I could take you on a tour after school. Please do come down."

Raily shook her head stubbornly.

"People are going to look at you." Azuma said.

"I don't care," Raily retorted.

Azuma sighed. "You're not going to change your mind are you?"

Shaking her head again, she crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Mukino-san, please take us to school." Azuma told the chauffeur.

"But, Raily-sama is…."

"I can take care of myself man, just drive." Raily called.

When the chauffeur still didn't move from his place, Azuma reassured him gently. "Raily-san will be fine. Let her be. Please just drive slowly."

"A-alright, if Azuma-sama says so." The chauffeur got into the drivers seat and started the engine.

In a minute or so, Raily could feel the car move and she felt a bit excited as the breeze touched her face. (Though the car moved at around 10 km/hr, much to Raily's disappointment.) But then soon enough, they left their subdivision and had now passed by the shopping center. She gasped at the sight of the different stores scattered all around the city. People around were staring and pointing at her but she couldn't care less because she was busy scouting the stores one by one.

A particular store called _Minami Instruments_ caught her eye.

"OH MY MUSH!"

The car instantly came to a halt with Azuma quickly jumped out of the car.

"What's wrong?" Azuma looked up at Raily worriedly.

Raily pointed to the store with wide eyes. Azuma turned to look.

"You want to go to that store?" Azuma asked with a sigh. He felt like he was talking to a kid, not someone just a year younger than he is.

Raily nodded dumbly. She couldn't believe she could finally go to a real _music _store that sells instruments and that kind of things.

"Well, it's still closed." Azuma said. "It will probably open up a little later-"

"Can we come back later after school?" Raily finally got back her ability to speak.

Azuma nodded slowly. "Sure, why not?"

He about to get in when Raily caught his arm.

"Azuma, come up and sit with me." Raily smiled daringly.

Azuma looked at her like she was crazy. "No, I'd rather-"

"-Ow, ow, don't tell me you're afraid of heights!?"

Azuma shook his head in disbelief before reluctantly climbing up to join her in the roof of the car. _Might as well… Obaa-sama will probably be furious about this… Huh, this Raily girl. I'm letting her get to me like this._

When he was all settled, Raily called for the chauffeur to continue driving again.

To say that Azuma did not enjoy the ride was a lie. He had a GREAT time taking in the breeze and seeing everything in that kind of view.

"Is this the first time you've done this?"

Azuma turned to her and smiled. "Well, I've always thought that people sit _inside _the car, never on _top _of it."

Raily smirked. "Then have you ever just _walked _around?"

Azuma didn't answer her question.

"You _haven't. _Geez, you've been driven around your whole life." Raily muttered. "That's gotta suck."

Azuma was taken aback. "I have a car. Why would I want to waste my energy to walk?"

"You know, Azuma-_sama, _that's very immature. Someday you're gonna grow old and feel sorry that you've wasted your youth." Raily scoffed.

Azuma contemplated on that. _My youth huh? _

When they got to school, Raily almost screamed at their car being instantly flocked around by girls. And not just regular girls, either. These were rabid _YUNOKI-SAMA!_-fan girls who probably wait for him to arrive at school every morning.

"_**Yu-no-ki-samaaaaaa!!!**__"_ The girls called with their high pitch voices.

"W-what the_ hell_ is this?" Raily stared down at them, unsure whether to go down or just stay on the roof of the car. "Man, no wonder you have to stay in the car all the time! These girls are like rabid dogs or something! I'd stay in the car too if I were you."

"I don't know if that was meant to be a compliment or not." Azuma muttered.

"Oh it is," Raily shook her head in sympathy. "You're being deprived of much needed personal space. That's the worst ever."

Azuma smirked. _This girl._

He put on a smile and waved to his fan girls. "Good morning. We would like to go down; I hope you wouldn't mind moving a little."

"Oh! Of course!" The girls moved aside and let Yunoki and Raily get down from the car.

"GAH! Who's that girl Yunoki-sama is with?!" Some girls glared daggers at Raily.

As soon as Raily's feet landed on the ground, she quickly got her violin case and ran, leaving Azuma to deal with the girls.

* * *

Hanami Raily is in the same class as Len. She found it partly disgusting and amusing at the same time.

_Disgusting_ because she had to be in the same room with that snotty bastard, and _amusing_ because she gets to do her hobby: watching people she doesn't like and making fun of them when they're not looking. Her new target is Tsukimori Len.

Sadly, it didn't turn out the way she wanted. Three classes have passed and Raily was getting bored with the Len-watching.

"There is absolutely _nothing_ about him to make fun of!" Raily said agitated. "Every class he does the same freakin' things. Listen attentively to the teacher, recite, and recite some more. UGH."

"_**Hanami**_."

"It's driving me crazy! He sucks the fun out of everything! Why does he have to do that? _Huh_? I mean-"

"**HANAMI!**"

Raily finally stopped her blabbering and looked in front to see her teacher, Sano-sensei, glaring down at her. Some of the students started snickering.

"You're the new girl, correct? Well, how about playing this piece for us?" Sano pointed to the music sheet he posted on the board. "Stand up and get your violin."

"Um," Raily swallowed hard as she stood up. "Sir… the piece…"

"You can play this for us, can't you?"

"I… um…" Raily looked down on her violin. She could feel everyone staring at her, and she could _definitely _feel Len's intense gaze.

"_Ew_, look at her violin. It's so _old _and _disgusting-looking._ There's no way you can actually play anything decent with that thing." A girl said and the people beside her giggled.

Raily felt her blood boil. _How dare they say that about _my _violin?_

"Hanami, what are you waiting for? Let's hear the piece." Sano crossed his arms and watched her expectantly.

Raily focused her attention back to the cruel teacher. "… Could you hum it or something?"

"Why? Since you found no need to pay attention in my class, it will seem to me that you've understood the lesson quite well." The teacher smirked. "Can't you do it?"

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! _Raily stared at the music sheet in the board for a moment before slowly playing it in the violin.

After a few notes, Sano called for her to stop.

"This piece is for beginner's level." Sano drawled. "You are already a second year, and yet you _cannot _play it! Why is that, Hanami?"

Raily felt her face go hot. _Just shoot me now, please._

"Read this note." Sano pointed to a note in the sheet.

"That… note?"

"No, the note in the jungle," Sano glared at her. "Of course this note! Do you happen to be blind too?"

Raily really wanted to die right there. "It's um… D." She said quietly.

"**D?!**" Sano cried out in outrage and almost the whole class now was laughing.

"Tell me this," Sano's voice got louder and louder. "Were you really the one who played the violin in the CD you sent to the school? _Who _played it for you?"

The class suddenly got awfully quiet and Raily could feel as if the whole world can hear Sano now.

"W…what CD?" Raily managed to ask.

"The CD for your admission test here, what else? You played a piece by Mozart, no? That is if _you _were the one who played it."

"But I never…" Raily stopped. _Mozart? My recital in the Kazumi Falls! Mom must've recorded it and sent it to this damn school!_

"Here is a piece of advice." The teacher went on. "You are _not_ here to play and fool around. This school is for perfecting the musical talents of each student. So if you have _**none of that**__, _then it's better for you to quit now. In that way, you won't be wasting both of our time."

That stung. It felt like someone had just punched Raily right in the gut and threw her in a never-ending well. Her knees felt weak, and her eyes started getting blurry.

The bell rang, and with one last distasteful look towards Raily, the teacher stomped his way out of the classroom. Raily stood there frozen in place, with her head bent down low.

"My, my, Hanami-san," A blonde girl approached her. Behind her were three other girls who were snarling at Raily.

"Aren't we having a very good first day?" The blonde, whose name was Mira, smirked. "Well, why don't you speak now?"

"She's crying." One of the girls purred.

"Huh. Poor little girl." Mira made a tsk sound. "Don't cry, Hanami-san. I'm sure your _old_ town would still want you back." She laughed. "I mean, that's where you belong. With the other **no-talent losers**, right girls?"

They all nodded and laughed with her.

The blonde turned her attention back to Raily. "You were too full of yourself. Why don't you just take your **ugly violin** and go back to the **trash where you live**."

That. Did. It.

Without looking up, Raily picked up her violin, pushed back the girls and ran to the door. Someone had called her name but she ignored it and just kept on running as fast as she could without looking back. Her vision was getting blurry and she knew tears were really threatening to fall now, but she kept it in. She didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction to see her break down and cry.

When she was out the school building and in isolation, her legs finally gave out and she sank down to her knees in the grass lawn.

End of Chapter 4


	5. The Eventful First Day

For a long time Raily just stayed like that in the isolated lawn, reflecting and weeping to her heart's content.

_Loser, no-talent, ugly violin, trash. _Those words kept ringing in her head.

After a long time of sobbing and lamenting, Raily started to calm down a little. She was startled shitless when someone spoke behind her.

"Miss? Are you okay?" A deep and low voice said.

Raily froze and looked up to see who it was. She couldn't see clearly because of her tears but the person obviously knew _her_. Because she heard him gasp and say:

"H-hanami-san?"

Raily quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and blinked at the tall man with green hair. _Tsuchiura Ryoutarou?_

"Hanami-san? Are you… alright?"

Raily looked away, embarrassed to have him see her in such a state. She heard him walk towards her and sit beside her on the grass. Through the corner of her eye, she saw him tilt his head upwards and look up at the sky.

A few minutes have past, and Raily couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, and not in a friendly way.

"I thought about getting some fresh air." Ryoutarou shrugged. "Since it's lunch time I wanted to rest a little, maybe take a nap."

"Then do it somewhere else." Raily muttered. "I want to be alone."

Ryoutarou didn't move. He kept his gaze at the sky and said. "When I was a kid, I joined the concours."

"Yeah? Wow, that's great." Raily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you had a great time."

Ryoutarou shook his head and laughed bitterly. "I hated it. People tried to pull me down. It felt like I was being hammered down or something."

"And so?" Raily huffed.

"Well, I became depressed and angry. I never played in public since." Ryoutarou replied. "Until I suddenly overcame it."

Raily snorted. "You _suddenly _overcame it, huh?"

"That's right." Ryoutarou then turned and met her gaze. "I know you'll do the same."

"How sure are you about that?" Raily raised a brow, challenging him. "You don't even know what my problem is."

Ryoutarou smiled. "You don't believe me? I'll show you." He stood up, got her violin and handed it to her.

"Uhuh…?" Raily looked at him questioningly.

"Play something." Ryoutarou said.

"No thanks." Raily grunted.

"Just play a piece." Ryoutarou urged, pushing the violin towards her.

Raily looked doubtful but she gave in, and stood up. "Fine, one piece."

She put her violin in place and played the very first song that came to her mind.

After just a few notes, Raily had Ryoutarou captivated. It was like he could actually _feel _the music and its embrace. The song was slow and sad in the start but then it gradually changed into something powerful, something pleasant.

Len was walking towards the music rooms to practice when he heard the violin music. It was faint, but it was like the music was reaching out to him.

_It's so sweet and gentle… I believe I've heard that before… Hino Kahoko? _Len let the music lead him to the back door of the building and he was about to go out when Azuma called him.

"Ah, Tsukimori-kun, I was wondering if you have seen-" Azuma then paused.

"Yes, Yunoki-senpai?" Len tried to hide his eagerness to open the door and leave.

Azuma closed his eyes and smiled as the wonderful music filled his ears. "What beautiful music." He mused.

"Yunoki-senpai," Len prompted. "Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, yes," Azuma looked back at him. "It's Raily-san. Have you seen her? I can't seem to find her."

"No, I haven't seen her." Len averted his gaze, remembering what had happened in class a while ago.

From a distance, both of them heard the violin music has ended. There was silence and Azuma observed Len for a while. "I heard you are in the same class with her. Did something happen? I was supposed to fetch her in your classroom for lunch but she wasn't there."

When Len didn't say anything, Azuma decided to use another way to make him talk.

"You know I am responsible for everything that happens to her in this school, Tsukimori-kun. I am asking you now instead of asking anyone else because you are my friend." Azuma said calmly. "Now, Tsukimori-kun, did anything happen?"

Len gave in and sighed. "She got scolded by a teacher in class."

"Why is that?" Azuma waited for an explanation.

"She cannot read notes."

Azuma stared at him dumbly. _She _cannot _read notes?_

"I do not think that is possible. I have heard her play once and I can say she is definitely not a beginner; in fact she played _Mozart_ rather smoothly." Azuma said.

"That's what Sano-sensei said when he heard the CD for Hanami-san's entrance test."

"You know what that means, don't you?" Azuma said.

Len shrugged.

"She might be another Hino Kahoko." Azuma resumed.

"I do not really understand what you mean by that, Yunoki-senpai."

"A genius, Tsukimori-kun." Azuma smiled.

"Well, I shall see for myself about that," Len gave a little bow before walking away from Azuma, a pondering look on his face.

"You know what; it actually made me feel better." Raily grinned.

Tscuchiura just stood there, his face filled with awe and wonder.

"Hello? Tsuchiura?" Raily waved her hand in front of his face. "You there?"

Tsuchiura finally shook out of his trance. "I… I can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?"

"That song…"

"Look, I know I don't sound that good-"

"No-no, it's not that!" Tsuchiura shook his head. "It's just that…. that song reminded me of something."

"Uh, it was by Mozart." Raily lifted a shoulder. "So you must've heard of it."

"It sounded like Hino's music."

"Hino?" Raily tried to think about the familiar name. _Oh, she's the girl from last night. -Was that supposed to be a compliment?_

"You play very well."

"Um, okay…" Raily started feeling weird and decided to change the subject. "Oh yeah, I didn't get to know what instrument you play."

"Well," Tsuchiura smiled mysteriously. "You can guess."

"Hmm, I can do that…" Raily tilted her head to the side. "Or you can just tell me."

Tsuchiura smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

"It's just your instrument. It's not like I'm asking if you're really Spiderman or something." Raily said. "Besides, I just played for you. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Tsuchiura thought for a while. "I'll play for you then."

Raily raised both her brows. "When do you plan to do that?"

"Now. Follow me." Tsuchiura started walking ahead towards the music building.

"Hey! Wait!" Raily hurriedly followed him.

Kahoko was humming to herself as she walked in the corridors when she saw Tsukimori pass by.

"Tsukimori-kun, how was prac…" Kahoko trailed off at the sight of the brooding Tsukimori. "Is something wrong?"

Tsukimori looked at her, and then he looked down at the violin case she was holding. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out, so instead he just shook his head and walked away.

"That was strange…" Kahoko watched his retreating form.

"What's strange?"

"Tsukimori-kun… he was weird just now- EH?" Kahoko turned around and gasped at the laughing Kazuki. "Hihara-senpai! Don't- don't do that!"

"Hahaha- you look so cute- hahahaha- you were so surprised!" Kazuki's shoulders were shaking madly with laughter.

Kahoko turned red. "H-hihara-senpai! Stop laughing."

"Okay, okay," It took some time for Kazuki's laughter to die down but when he did, he sucked in some air and grinned at her. "So, what's weird with Tsukimori-kun?"

"I don't know. It's just that he was acting a bit different today." Kahoko frowned.

Kazuki laid a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe he's just thinking about the concours. Don't worry so much, Hino-chan."

Kahoko looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Hihara-senpai."

"No problem." Kazuki put his hand down and gestured to her violin case. "You were playing really well a while ago."

Kahoko furrowed her eyebrows together. "Huh? I'm just on my way to the practice room now. I haven't… played anything yet."

"Eh?" Kazuki stared at her. "Are you sure? I heard someone playing outside."

"Yes, I'm sure." Kahoko chuckled. "Maybe it's someone else."

"Yeah," Kazuki then smiled. "So, wanna practice together? We can go to the roof."

"Okay, sure." Kahoko let him lead the way.

"So,…?" Tsuchiura flexed his fingers after playing _Chopin _and turned his head to look at the silent, unmoved girl sitting in a chair not far from him. The whole time he was playing, Raily had been looking intently at his skillful fingers without any reaction.

"Play it again." Raily said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Tsuchiura raised a brow. That wasn't the response he expected.

"Play it again." Raily repeated louder this time.

"_Why?_"

"Just because."

"What if I don't want to?" Tsuchiura teased. "It can be tiring, you know."

"But you're not tired." Raily dead panned. "Plus, it's not about what you want. You're here to play for me, remember?"

Tsuchiura felt his eyelid twitch. _What an annoying, demanding, bossy-_

He sighed and played another round of _Chopin _for her. The lovely tune echoed in the practice room as Raily slowly closed her eyes and felt the music. Tsuchiura couldn't help but stare at her calm and relaxed face. When he caught her smile, he suddenly lost concentration and missed a note, wrecking the melody.

Raily's eyes flew open. "What happened? It was getting to the good part."

"I…. uh…" Tsuchiura could feel his cheeks heat up. He has _never ever _missed a note in his entire life.

"You know, this is the first time I've seen someone play the piano up close." Raily admitted.

Tsuchiura looked startled. "Really?"

"Yeah, actually, I've only seen pianists play in TV."

"I… I see."

There was an awkward silence until they heard the bell ring, indicating lunch break was over.

_Urg, time to go back to the hell. _Raily grumbled to herself as she and Tsuchiura stood up and left the practice room.

"Well, I have to get to my building now. I guess uh, I'll see you soon?" Tsuchiura smiled.

"Yeah, see you."

Tsuchiura was already at the end of the hall when Raily called him. He turned and looked at her questioningly.

"Um, the thing you told me. You know, about the dilemma you had? In the uh, concours?"

Tsuchiura nodded, amused how she was struggling with this- whatever_ this _is.

"Well… how long… did it take before you… uh what's the word, oh ah, overcame it?"

Tsuchiura laughed lightly. "So that's what _this_ is about?"

"Hmph. Just answer it," Raily put her arms over her chest.

"Umm…" Tsuchiura looked up at the ceiling. "Well, it took a while."

Raily gave him a look.

"Ok, it took a long time. Around maybe a few years or so."

Raily's eyes widen. "What the… No kidding?"

"Actually, I just overcame it recently." Tsuchiura blushed when Kahoko entered his mind.

"Right…" Raily nodded. "Well, ok, laterz." She picked up her violin case and left.

When Raily got in the classroom, everyone suddenly got quiet and looked at her strangely.

_Damn this, look all you want, bitches. I ain't looking away now. _Raily raised her head, pushed back her shoulders, and walked towards her seat as if nothing's happened. She couldn't continue doing that though, because as soon as she sat down, Mira and her three skanks immediately hovered around her.

"_Soooo, _how was your lunch, Ms. Poor-no-talent-violinist?" Mira cackled.

_Sigh, how lucky am I that we have to have study period right now? _Raily implored to herself when she wondered why there is no teacher and saw on the board it's study period. All her classmates were watching her and Mira's group. Probably waiting to see who will attack first.

"Are you so poor that you didn't have anything to eat?" Mira asked.

Raily got out a notebook and started doodling, pretending they're not there.

A sound of undisguised shock came from Mira and the girls' lips.

"Mira-sama just asked you a question." One of them said haughtily.

Raily started humming a tune while drawing and that made Mira more pissed.

"You arrogant bitch!" Mira seized the notebook and a piece of card fell onto the floor. It was a ticket for the Jared High Christmas Concert.

When Raily saw the ticket, she hurriedly reached down to get it but Mira beat her to it.

"Give it to me." Raily looked at Mira evenly.

"_Ahhhh,_ so this little thing is important to you?" Mira waved it in the air. "Where is Jared High anyway?"

Raily's eyes narrowed at her. "Give it back to me _now._"

"Oh, silly me. Of course Jared High was your old school right?" Mira said. "The no-good school with its ugly students." She and the girls laughed unpleasantly.

Raily clenched her fists. _Just relax, Hanami. Don't get so fired up. You're better than that._

Seeing the effect this is having on Raily, Mira smiled and looked back at the ticket. "The highlight of the concert will be the duet performance of Hanami Raily and Musaki Dana." She read out loud.

"_OHH? _We feel sorry for the concert." The girls chorused.

"Yes, I don't know who this Musaki bitch is, but since you both belong to the same trash, then she probably isn't good in playing like you." Mira made a tsk sound. "It's a pity that the audience will have to_ listen_ to trash."

"_Trash_?" Raily had enough. She started laughing madly as she stood up and it made Mira and her back-up girls take a step back.

"_All this time_ I kept silent. The whole time you bitched about me, I stayed quiet. But now I had enough." Raily took a step towards them, making them move back once more. "I'm gonna tell you this once, so you better listen well. You can make fun of me, label me, laugh at me, and whatever shit you lowlifes do, but what I _cannot _allow is you screwing about my hometown _and _my school _and_ my friends."

Mira looked alarmed. "Step away, you crazy poor girl!"

"What I cannot allow is you saying that my _best friend_ is a bitch, and that she isn't _good enough _to play." Raily's eyes turned into slits as she got hold of Mira's blouse and pulled her near so their faces were only inches apart.

"Mira-sama!" The girls cried out and Mira's face was clouded with fear.

"Do you understand what I am saying?" Raily hissed at Mira. "Am I making myself clear enough for you, _Mira-sama?_

"T-trash! Let- let g-g-go of me!" Mira frantically tried to loosen Raily's grip on her blouse but she couldn't.

"And another thing, I don't believe you know the meaning of that word. _Trash._ You know what's all coming out from your conceited mouth? They're TRASH." Raily released her hold on Mira.

"Mira-sama! Are you alright?" The girls circled around Mira as she panted.

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut if it doesn't have anything good to say, Mira-sama." Raily picked up the ticket that Mira had dropped when Raily gripped her. She put it in her bag and went back to her seat. With a pencil in hand, she continued her drawing as if nothing happened.

After a while, Raily saw through the corner of her eye, a couple of girls accompany Mira outside the classroom, probably to go see a nurse. Raily blocked off the whispers and buzzing that had suddenly erupted after what had happened.

_Huh. I wonder what my second day in Seiso will bring me? _


	6. Lucky or Not

Chapter 6

Lucky or Not

* * *

Last period just ended. As soon as they were dismissed by the teacher, Raily hurriedly got out of her classroom to meet Azuma at the school gates.

_Music store, music store. Yeaahhh. _Smiling from ear to ear, Raily clutched her violin case tighter and thought about the wonderful things she could see in the store they found earlier in the morning. She was so busy with her own thoughts that she accidentally bumped into a girl who was standing not too far away from the gate.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Raily said when the girl turned around. "I wasn't really looking so I kinda…"

The girl was wearing the same uniform as Tsuchiura and Kahoko. She had light-brown hair and on her hand was a camera.

"It's ok. I'm just glad that I didn't drop my camera." The girl smiled.

Raily nodded and looked around for Azuma. _What's taking him so long?_

"I haven't seen you around. Are you new here?"

Raily turned to the girl with the camera and was surprised that she was still there. "Um, yeah, today's my first day actually…"

"I see," The girl took out her hand. "I'm Nami Amou, the paper's photographer."

"Good to meet you." Raily shook her hand. "I'm Hanami Raily."

"So, did you enjoy your first day here?"

Raily snorted. "Oh yeah, it was a blast."

Amou noticed the sarcasm in her tone but decided not to ask. "Are you waiting for someone, Hanami-san?"

"Yeah, actually I'm waiting for-"

"Raily-chan, have you been waiting long?"

Raily and Amou turned to see Azuma behind them.

"Yunoki Azuma!"

"Why, Amou-san, what a surprise." Yunoki smiled.

Amou's eyes suddenly went blazing as she looked at Azuma and then at Raily. "You were waiting for Yunoki Azuma?"

"….." Raily hesitantly nodded.

Azuma's phone suddenly rang and he walked away to answer it.

"So…. Hanami-san," Amou smiled the familiar smile Raily had seen before.

It was the same knowing, mystified smile Hihara had on their first meeting.

"Are you and Yunoki Azuma…. _together?_"

_Why does everyone keep saying that? _Raily was getting irritated but she contained it and just shook her head. "No, _Nami Amou-san_, we're actually going to be siblings."

"_What? _Siblings?"

Raily nodded slowly. "Yeah, my mom is marrying his dad, so…. siblings."

"Ho ho ho," Amou started rubbing her chin. "This is big news! Yes, yes, it should be front page for the paper."

"Wait, wait." Raily just realized something. "No! It's not big news! No one should know, you understand? I mean **NO ONE**."

"Why?" Amou raised a brow.

"Just because." Raily said in a firm voice. "You can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Well…." Amou shrugged.

"Or else Azuma will get real mad and quit school." Raily didn't know what she was saying but that was the first thing that came to mind.

From a distant she heard Azuma say goodbye to the person he was speaking to. Raily gave Amou a threatening look.

Amou sighed and nodded. "It's a secret, Hanami-san, but only under one condition."

"What's that?" Raily groaned to herself.

"You need to make sure that I get something worth putting in next week's front page for the school paper."

"_Say what?_" Raily could see from the corner of her eye that Azuma is getting near them so she lowered her voice and glared at Amou. "But that's your freaking job! I have nothing to do with it!"

"You just deprived me of very big news worth front page." Amou grinned. "You have to prepare for the consequences."

"Why you-" Raily shut her mouth when Azuma was already beside them.

"Amou-san, I'm afraid Raily-chan and I have to go now." Azuma smiled. "It was a pleasure talking with you here."

"_Yes_, it was." Amou winked at Raily. "It's due this Friday ok?"

_Blackmailing pig! _Raily forced a smile at Nami Amouu and dragged Azuma towards the car.

"Did something happen?" Azuma asked when they were inside the car.

"Oh, no, nothing." Raily mumbled. _Where the hell do I get big news for that sneaky monkey! And here I thought she was nice!_

"Well, if you don't feel comfortable saying it, it's fine."

"It's not a big deal." Raily looked out the window. "Who was on the phone?"

"Otou-sama. He said we're to go home immediately; the wedding planner wants us all to be present for some matters."

"Does it have to be _now?_" Raily sagged.

"Yes, since the wedding will be in a few weeks, it seems we don't have much time left for preparations."

"Then… what about the music store?"

"I'm sorry, Raily-chan." Azuma smiled sadly. "But Otou-sama said-"

Raily let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know."

The car passed by a chain of restaurants and Raily's mouth watered from the sight of the pictures of food posted on the glass windows of the restaurants.

For some reason, Azuma suddenly turned to the chauffeur and asked him to take them to _Alfredo's_.

_Alfredo's? _ _Who the hell is Alfredo? _Raily wondered if that was the name of the wedding planner. She wondered if she could maybe eat something in that guy's place.

"Here we are, Azuma-sama, Raily-sama."

The car pulled to a stop and Raily was surprised to see where they have arrived. It wasn't the wedding planner's house. It was a restaurant. An extravagant gourmet restaurant where rich people eat and socialize with each other.

Two men dressed in valet uniform opened the door for Azuma and Raily.

Azuma got in the restaurant and Raily slowly followed behind him. She couldn't believe how beautiful it was inside. The chandeliers hanging in the ceiling were the biggest and shiniest Raily had ever seen. Everything from the marbled floors, to the chairs, to the utensils looked classy and expensive.

They sat at one of the available tables near the wall and while the waitress was getting the menus and drinks, a middle-aged foreign man who looked to be like the executive chef of the restaurant approached them. He greeted Azuma politely and Raily could tell that seeing Azuma pleased him a lot.

"Raily-chan, this is Chef Alfredo." Azuma introduced the man. "He's good friends with Otou-sama."

"Oh, hey, nice to meet you," Raily said. "I'm Hanami Raily."

Chef Alfredo gave a small bow towards Raily and smiled. "It is indeed a pleasure to meet such as lovely young lady. You are a music student from Seiso, yes? Are you in the same year as Young Yunoki-sama?"

_Young Yunoki-sama? _Raily smirked. "No, I'm in the second year."

Chef Alfredo brightened. "I have a nephew who is the same age as you are. As a matter of fact, he'll be coming here later on today."

"We look forward to meeting him, Chef Alfredo." Azuma smiled. "Does he also excel in cooking as you do?"

Chef Alfredo gave a hearty laugh. "He's quite passionate… in other things. My nephew cannot heat anything without setting something on fire."

Raily and Azuma laughed with him.

"I'm afraid I have to go back to the kitchen now." Chef Alfredo bowed. "Please order anything that you would like." He turned and left the two of them to look at the menu.

"I like him." Raily told Azuma. "He's cool."

Azuma chuckled. "Yes, it's been a long time since we last ate here, but I was glad to see that he hasn't changed a bit." He opened the menu. "In fact, the restaurant and the dishes have not changed too."

Raily opened her menu too and went through the assorted dishes. "Hey this looks good… mmm… lemon chicken…. - _oh my gawd_!"

Azuma looked up. "What's wrong?"

"The prices! They're _exaggerated_!"

Azuma had on a blank expression. "They're just the right prices for a good meal. It's not any different from other restaurants."

"Are you kidding me?" Raily's eyes widen incredulously. "The restaurants in my town serve foods like these and they're like half these prices! I can't believe people actually eat here!"

"Raily-chan, please keep your voice down." Azuma looked at the guests who were now staring at them.

"I mean, why the hell do they have to make the food so expensive?" Raily was in heat. "And here I thought that Chef Alfredo was a nice guy! Who does he think he is- charging people dishes as expensive as these?"

Azuma sighed. "Let's just order, Raily-chan. Otou-sama will be here shortly."

"No," Raily clenched her teeth. "I will _not _eat anything from this sick place!"

"Raily-chan…"

"I said no!"

"I suppose I have to order for you then." Azuma signaled for a waiter.

"I'm telling you, I'm not eating and you can't make me." Raily said stubbornly.

A tall man approached them and Azuma dictated around five dishes for them to eat.

When the waiter left, Azuma turned to Raily and said softly. "I'll talk to Chef Alfredo, I'll ask him to reconsider the prices of the foods." Azuma offered. "Please tell me you'll be quiet and eat the food I've ordered?"

"I'm not hung-"

"Don't even tell me that you're not hungry. I know that you didn't have your lunch."

Raily froze.

The salad arrived first and Azuma pushed the plate towards her to eat. "You had a rough first day so please, just eat."

Raily glanced up at him. "How did you know?"

"Well, I happen to know a lot." Azuma smiled.

_Uh, creepy much? _Raily didn't want to give in but she was really hungry. She took a fork and started eating.

"Ah! My dear Nephew!"

Raily and Azuma turned to see Chef Alfredo hurrying to greet the young man who just came in.

"Hmm, I should have known." Azuma smiled as he stared at the two near the door.

"What? What should you have known?" Chef Alfredo was blocking Raily's view of the man so she craned her neck to see who it was.

When she finally saw Chef Alfredo's nephew, she choked on a piece of lettuce. _HIM?_

End of Chapter 6


	7. The Pink Challenge

Chapter 7

The Pink Challenge

* * *

After drinking a glass of water to force down that piece of lettuce stuck in her throat, Raily pointed to the man unbelieving. "_He's_ the chef's nephew?!"

Azuma lifted a shoulder. "It doesn't seem impossible."

_Urg. It's that fish head again! The one who got me in trouble on my first day._._ Damn it. I so do not want to see that arrogant Tsukimori's face today._

She watched the stoic blue-haired young man conversing with Chef Alfredo and she suddenly jerked down when they started walking towards a table near the wall. Towards Azuma and Raily's table.

"Shit."

"Raily-chan, what are you doing?" Azuma asked.

"Grr! _Go_ _away_! Don't go here!"Raily bent down low and covered herself with her hand, hiding from Len as he and Chef Alfredo got nearer to them.

"Raily-chan?" Azuma felt a smile tug on his lips. "Is there any reason why you do not want to see Tsukimori-kun?"

"Of course not!" Raily hissed. "Why would I-"

"Yunoki-senpai?"

Raily froze when she heard Len's voice behind her. _Damn. Life is really unfair to me._

"Why hello, Tsukimori-kun," Azuma said with a smile. "Look Raily-chan, it's Tsukimori-kun,"

Raily glared hard at Azuma. _Shut up!_

"It's a pleasant surprise to see you again, Hanami-san." Len said in his usual tone.

Raily put on a fake smile and turned to him. "Tsukimori, nice to see you too."

"So you know each other then?" Chef Alfredo smiled widely.

"Yes," Len answered. "In fact, we are classmates, right Hanami-san?"

Still smiling that fake smile, Raily nodded. _I so want to punch that face of yours right now, you fish head._

"Tsukimori-kun, if you're not busy, why don't you join us?" Azuma asked pleasantly.

_What?! _Raily wanted to choke Azuma so badly.

"Go on Len, I'll just be in the kitchen." Chef Alfredo excused himself and then walked away.

Len took a seat across Raily and she started feeling the irritation and anger boiling inside her as the events of what happened earlier flashed in her mind.

"So, Tsukimori-kun, do you go here often?" Azuma said after feeling the uncomfortable silence in the table.

"Uncle asked me to do some tasks for him." Len glanced at the steaming Raily. "And the two of you?"

"We have some wedding matters to attend to." Azuma replied.

A waiter had served them some tea cups and a tea pot and Raily quickly took her cup and filled hers.

"I see. Your parents will be coming?" Len was speaking to Azuma, but his gaze was directed to Raily.

Azuma nodded. "Our parents, Miyabi and the wedding planner will be here soon."

"I see." Len decided to try something. "Hanami-san, about today in school –Oof!"

Raily had kicked him under the table directly in the knee and he painfully bent over.

"Tsukimori-kun, are you alright?" Azuma peered towards him.

"Y…yes, just muscle cramps." Len looked across to Raily and glared at her.

"_Ooh. _They just hurt a lot, don't they?" Raily's tone was sympathetic but her eyebrow was raised, challenging him.

"Why don't you have some tea?" Azuma poured some tea for Len. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Len gratefully took the filled cup and drank. "It's fine, I just felt a little jolt for a moment."

"Tsk Tsk. You need to exercise more, Tsukimori." Raily smirked.

"Oh, that's right." Len smile slowly formed in his lips. "I heard that you ran quite a mile this- URGG!" Len gritted his teeth and glared hard at Raily.

"_Daaamn_, don't tell me you had _another_ muscle cramp." Raily feigned shock.

"It felt like a _horse _had just kicked me." Len said coolly.

"You really must see a doctor, Tsukimori." Raily sighed. "Actually, why don't you have it checked at this moment?"

Len raised both his eyebrows. "Thank you for your concern, Hanami-san, but I'm afraid I have to stay for now."

"No you don't."

"What makes you think I don't?"

_Bastard_. Raily glared at him. "What are you really doing here anyway?"

"Why are you interested to know?"

"Don't answer my questions with questions." Raily pushed back her bangs from her face angrily. "Now, what the hell are you here for?"

Len pointed to a platform in the middle of the restaurant. Raily looked at Len then at the stage, then at Len again.

"What about the freaking stage?" Raily asked, not getting it.

Azuma made a knowing hmm sound. "Could it be that you will be performing tonight, Tsukimori-kun?"

Raily almost choked. "_What?"_

Len nodded. "I'll be playing in a little while."

"Wonderful. Aren't we lucky to have this chance to hear Tsukimori-kun play, Raily-chan?" Azuma smiled.

Raily refused to let the bastard win. So he's here to show off huh?

"Eh? Tsukimori, I don't think you're not dressed for it." Raily smirked.

"_Excuse_ me?" Len seemed shocked. "This suit was tailored by one of the best in Japan."

Raily made a tsk sound. "Tsukimori, Tsukimori, you just don't get it! What's the point of that freaking expensive suit if people are just going to throw tomatoes at you?"

Len's eyelid twitched.

"I mean, come on. Just by looking at you, I'd already have the impulse to grab the nearest gunk and make sure you're filled with it."

Len's lips were a tight line now as Raily went on without any care in the world.

"Rich people. Huh. I would've thought that you'd at least put on a raincoat." Raily shook her head at him. "And you're hair, damn. That shimmering blue effect you have going on? Yeah, be ready to shave it off after tonight, man."

Azuma seemed heavily amused with this. He had never seen Len's face so vigorous. Apparently Len isn't very fond of having his appearance criticized like that.

"And actually-"

Len cut Raily off before she could continue on with her smart-ass comments. "Then, Hanami-san, are you up for a challenge?"

Raily blinked. "A _what_?"

"A challenge." Len lifted a shoulder. "If you think you're so good, then why don't we see if which one of the two of us gets the most applause and acknowledgements from the guests in the restaurant?"

Raily raised a brow. "What piece are we playing?"

"Anything you choose."

"Alright," Raily smirked.

Len excused himself from the table. After a minute or so, he came back with his violin in hand.

Raily stared at it. "A golden violin?"

"Is it beautiful, Hanami-san?"

Raily looked away from it. "Heck, no."

Len smirked. "Are you going to borrow it?"

Raily wordlessly stretched out her hand, asking for the violin.

"Be careful with my violin." Len said as he handed it to her.

Raily rolled her eyes. "I'll make sure to thrash your _oh-so-golden_ violin in the wall before I end my performance."

Len sighed.

"Hey if I win this, you have to dye your violin pink."

Len looked at her like she was crazy.

On the other hand, Azuma was impressed. "Raily-chan, isn't that a bit too much?"

"No, it's not. Right, Tsukimori?" Raily smiled widely. "I mean, it's just a color, right?"

Len cursed under his breath before nodding. "Fine, but the same goes for me if I win."

Raily sniggered. "Let's see what you got."

Len sighed. "What piece will you be playing?"

"Find out," Raily walked towards the platform.

"Hi everybody, I'm Hanami Raily." She waved to the guests sitting on their tables. "I'll be playing a piece for you all. Hope you like it."

She put the violin in place and in the corner of her eye, she saw Len watching her expectantly with his usual smug expression.

_Hmph, I'm gonna erase that arrogant expression of yours, fish head. _Raily slowly closed her eyes and started playing.

And that was exactly what she did. Len's usual look had now been replaced with unmasked shock and astonishment as Raily's gentle and airy music reached his ears. She had been playing the same piece he had heard in school that day. The one where he thought Kahoko had been playing.

"It's beautiful."

Len looked to his side and found that Azuma had also been completely taken in by Raily's music. In fact, everyone in the restaurant had stopped what they were doing and had all their attention fixated on Raily's playing.

The piece drifted towards the strong vibrant part and Len had to admit that you need to have skills to be able to execute that very well. And Raily did it perfectly and gracefully.

As the piece slowly came to an end, Raily opened her eyes and smiled. A number of the guests had stood up clapping appreciatively after her performance. A familiar looking woman was waving at her.

It was Ayane. Takashi, Miyabi and a smartly dressed blonde woman carrying a folder were with her and they were sitting on the table with Azuma and Len.

Raily waved back, took a bow and got off the platform.

"Hey, you guys are here already." Raily said as she approached them.

"That was really amazing, Raily-san." Miyabi greeted her with a smile.

"Yes, it truly was a grand performance." The unknown woman added.

Raily reddened. "Uh, thanks. And you are…"

"Raily, this is Diamond." Ayane said cheerfully. "She's our wedding planner."

"R-right… the wedding… planner." Raily turned towards Len. "Here, it's your turn to play."

Len excused himself from everyone and took the violin.

"Think you can beat that?" Raily challenged.

Len cleared his throat. "We'll see."

Raily smirked and took a seat on the table.

"Have you eaten, Raily, Azuma-kun?" Ayane asked.

They both nodded.

"Then we can start." Takashi signaled to Diamond to begin.

"Okay. So first thing's first: We have one month before the wedding." Diamond informed the family.

"Oh… I see." Raily glanced towards the stage when she heard Len had started playing his piece.

Right from the start, the piece he had chosen to play was fast, strong and sharp.

Raily gaped. His quick fingers had become a blur to her as it moved in the strings of the violin. She knew he was good, but she didn't know he was _that _good.

"….Miss Raily,….your date for the wedding…"

"Nnnn…." Raily wondered how long it took Len to practice that difficult piece. "That Tsukimori…"

"… So it's settled then, Miss Raily's date will be…"

_Damn, he looks good up there. _Raily grudgingly admitted to herself. _For someone so arrogant and self-centered and-_

"… Mr. Tsukimori Len."

"Wait, huh?" Raily whipped her attention towards what they were discussing on the table. "What about Tsukimori?"

Diamond looked at her strangely. "Ma'm, your wedding date?"

"My **WHAT**?!" Raily's eyes widen.

"Raily-chan," Azuma smiled at her. "You just told Diamond a while ago that Tsukimori Len-kun will be your date."

"I… I… ha?" Raily seemed appalled with the idea.

"Oh honey, so that's why you kept on looking at Len-kun, I didn't know." Ayane said happily.

This is all too much for Raily. "Wait, wait! It was a misunderstanding! Tsukimori can't be my date. He's-"

"It's alright, Raily." Ayane smiled. "I approve of him."

"No, no. I was talking about the other Tsukimori. Not him. Not-"

Azuma chuckled. "Raily-chan, are you that afraid of him?"

"Who's afraid?!" Raily crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not afraid."

"Then why not ask him to be your date?" Azuma asked.

Before Raily could answer, she heard Len finish his piece and heard people clapping wildly for him.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Concours or No Concours?

Chapter 8

Concours or no Concours?

* * *

When Raily entered the classroom the next day, the first thing she saw was a desk covered by neon colored sticky notes. She didn't even have to think twice to know that that very colorful desk was hers.

"Jeez. And here I thought that little show I've put on in class yesterday would bring things to an end. What the hell is this now…" Raily walked over to her desk, put down her things and started detaching the notes, reading each of them.

_Go back to your no-good school with the other ugly students!_

_You don't belong here._

_TRASH_

Raily stopped. _Why do these words seem so familiar, especially the last one?_ Raily then noticed the writing in the biggest sticky note stuck in her desk.

_**You will pay for what you did to Mira-sama, you stupid poor bitch! **_

Mira. Raily impulsively looked around the classroom in search of her and then suddenly met the dirty glares of Mira's three followers being directed at her. _Oh? Mira-sama is not here? So those wrenches stuck these huh?_

Smirking, Raily brought with her the detached sticky notes and went over to where the girls were sitting.

"Hello wren- I mean girls," Raily smiled. "I saw these in my desk." She fanned the notes in the air for them to see. "Are these supposed to mean anything?"

"Every single word was meant for you, Hanami Raily." One of the girls retorted. "It's a warning for what might happen to you."

"Yeah?" Raily leaned in towards the girl who was probably Mira's right hand woman. "Haven't you learned what happens if you mess with me?"

"You can't do anything to us." The girl tried to remain unmoved by Raily's towering. She turned to her two fellow wrenches. "Am I right, girls?"

"Y..yeah, that's right!" The two girls didn't sound very convincing as they took a step back, eyes wide.

"Oh? Where's your dear beloved Mira-_sama_ then?" Raily smirked. "You want what happened to her to happen to you too? It didn't look very pretty, especially considering she didn't come to school today."

"You better watch what you're saying Hanami Raily." The girl said in her most hard tone. "No one disgraces Mira-sama like that."

"Whatcha gonna do about it, hun?" Raily said in her most girly voice.

"I am going to-"

"Hey Tsukimori, I need to ask you something." One of the guys in their class called to someone in the doorway.

"Tsukimori-kun!" Mira's three wrenches instantly reddened when they saw Len walk in the classroom. "Oh Tsukomori-kun! Good morning, Tsukimori-kun!"

Len didn't even glance at the girls as he made his way to the boy who called him earlier.

"_Good morning, Tsukimori-kun!_" Raily mimicked the girls and looked at them incredulously. "Don't tell me you're like, _Tsukimori-_abid fans too_?!"_

The girls whipped their attentions back to Raily and glared at her. "Tsukimori-kun is Mira-sama's _boyfriend."_

"_Boyfriend?" _Raily couldn't imagine the Queen Of All Things Trashy being in love with someone like Tsukimori. Well, this just proves that each has his own.

The girls opened their snotty little mouths to talk back to Raily, when an unknown teacher with long dark violet hair worn up in a low ponytail walked inside their classroom, getting all their attention.

"Hey, Good Morning all, I'm just here to give these permits to the concour participants." He gestured towards the sheets of paper in his hand. "If you're going to the training camp this weekend, please make sure you have this slip signed by your parents."

The teacher made his way towards Tsukimori and gave him a piece of paper. Everyone expected him to leave after that, but then the teacher had one more piece of paper in his hand and he raised it up.

"May I know who here is Hanami Rai- how do you say this?- Raimy?"

There was a tense feeling in the air as everyone fastened their eyes to Raily.

"Sensei…" One of the students finally said. "Could it be that you are referring to Hanami… _Raily?_"

"Is that how you say it?" The teacher glanced back at the paper. "Oh, yeah, sorry, it's Hanami Rai-_ly_." The teacher nodded. "Is she here?"

"Um, I'm…. here." Raily raised her hand hesitatingly.

The teacher smiled, walked towards her and handed her the piece of paper. "Here's your permit, congratulations by the way."

Raily didn't accept it. "Congratulations… for what?"

"You're now a participant in the concours."

"_What?" _Raily's mouth was hanging open.

"Sen-sensei! Are you sure you are not mistaken with this?" Mira's right hand wrench said, extremely dumbfounded.

The teacher scratched his cheek. "No, I don't think so. The papers came from the principal himself, so anyway," He turned to Raily. "I'm Kanazawa-sensei, the teacher in charge of the concours- well, that's what I'm told anyway. If you have any further questions, I'm at the faculty room. Alright? Alright. Bye."

"WAIT-" Raily sighed when sensei already left the classroom.

"T-that's just impossible!" Mira's right hand wrench said in shaking surprise and outrage. "How could this p-poor girl get in the concours just like that?!"

Raily could hear her other classmates whispering about her, making their own reasons on why Raily got in. Honestly, Raily herself didn't understand too. It was just her second day in Seiso Academy. She decided that if anyone knew about this thing, it'd be Tsukimori. She'd have to ask him later, right now she needs to deal with Sano-sensei who's going to be next period. What should she do?

_Go to the infirmary because of a stomach ache? *_Shiver* _Damn do nurses scare the shit outta me._

…_I could hide in the comfort room? _

_...or maybe I could just play dead? _

_What am I, a cockroach?_ Raily argued. _I will not be a coward. I'll show Sano-sensei that I'm not just here to fool around. I am a violinist and I will learn how to read notes to become a better violinist._

After first period ended, Sano-sensei came marching inside the room. He took one look at Raily and scoffed at her. "You're still here?"

Raily just looked at him stone-faced. _Shit this is so much easier said than done._

"Hanami, why don't you lead us in today's refresher?" Sano crossed his arms together.

Raily slowly got up with her violin and went in front. _What the hell is today's refresher?_

"Oh? You have it memorized?" Sano smirked.

_Memorized? _Since Raily wasn't listening in yesterday's class, she absolutely didn't know what she should do. She looked around the sea of faces in front of her and realized that everyone had their books open.

"Oh! Yes, the book, course." Raily hurriedly got her book and tried to use her ultra-vision to see which page the student in front has his book opened to.

When she turned her book to page 39, she found that it was the basics in scales and beats. _Sano-sensei knows that I can't read the freaking notes! _She laid her book in front of a stand provided and she wished for the best as she did one of the first scales in the page. At the span of fifteen minutes, she had been scolded at least 10 times. Through that though, she was able to grasp the concept of notes and now she knows in which string each note is supposed to be. Well, she knows 10 notes. But it's a big improvement from the 0 notes she knew how to read before. She needs to practice these notes before Sano adds new ones tomorrow.

"Okay, that's it for today's refresher. We will now proceed with the new lesson," Sano gestured for Raily to be seated. "If you still want to be in my class, I expect a better scale from you tomorrow, Hanami."

Raily was so brain dead after that "refresher" that she didn't understand much of what Sano was saying in the lesson. She also didn't notice how students were again murmuring about her.

Moments passed by and the bell rang, indicating it was lunchtime.

"Oi, Tsukimori," Raily cornered him in his seat before he had a chance to get up. "What the heck is this concour shit all about?"

Len gave her an annoyed look. "What makes you think I know anything about it?"

"Well,_ do_ you?"

"_No_," Len replied. "Can you move aside now?"

"Fine, I'll go ask that sensei myself." Raily backed away from him.

"Go ahead," Len got up and put his violin inside the case.

"You know, you should've just gone ahead and dyed your violin pink." Raily commented.

"The deal was, whoever loses will have to dye their violin. I didn't lose." Len shut the case closed.

Azuma, the self-proclaimed judge of their challenge, had concluded that the both of them had equal amounts of applause and acknowledgements from the guests. It was a TIE. And just before the evening ended, the guests requested for a duet starring Raily and Len.

Len had politely declined at that time, saying that he didn't do duets with another violinist, not now and definitely not in the future. Raily on the other hand, had retorted by saying that she'd rather have a duet with a dolphin than with Len. Consequently, it can be seen that she was still upset with the Len-being-her-date thing.

"The faculty room is in the second floor." With that, Len walked out of the classroom.

* * *

"It was the principal." Kanazawa-sensei said.

"Uh… huh?" Raily raised a brow in confusion.

"The principal saw you and Tsukimori perform at the restaurant last night."

Raily leaned back on the chair and stared at the teacher. "Then?"

Kanazawa scratched his chin. "Well that was it. That's all he said to me anyway."

"You mean to say, he just saw me perform _once _and then just suddenly had a thought that I should be in the concours?!"

"Well, basically, yes."

Raily narrowed her eyes at him. "There's no way,"

"Listen; I'm sure there must be another reason why the principal had asked for your participation in the concours. I mean, I'm not really in any position to choose who gets in or not. Just look at Tsuchiura-kun, he just played once in public and _poof_ he's also in the concours."

"Do you seriously expect me to just believe that?"

Kanazawa sighed. "All I'm saying is that you're in the concours for a reason. It's actually a good opportunity for you, Hanami. You should be thankful."

Raily flexed her fingers and was silent for a while. "The training camp. Do I also have to go to that training camp?"

"Yes, it's there where I will tell you all the theme for the second selection of the concours."

"So, you mean," Raily pushed back her hair. "Everyone's going?"

"Well, they have to if they still want to participate in the concours."

Saying her thanks and goodbye, Raily got up from her seat. She left the office and accidently bumped right into Azuma.

"Raily-chan, I finally found you," Azuma gave a sigh. "I thought I told you to wait in your classroom?"

"Uh… must've slipped my mind. I was in a hurry for something, sorry."

"Oh, that's right! How inconsiderate of me. I heard you're now a participant in the concours." Azuma smiled. "Congratulations, Hanami-chan!"

Raily ducked her head and walked ahead from him. "Let's just go eat, I'm hungry."

Azuma chuckled and with big strides, he was walking beside her. "So… have you asked Tsukimori-kun yet?"

"Ask him what?" Raily asked, wishing he wasn't asking what she _thinks_ he's asking.

"To be your date for the wedding."

Raily shuddered. "Can we just _not _talk about this?"

"You're going to have to ask him sometime too, you know."

Raily turned to him. "Have _you _asked _your_ date?"

Azuma made a humming sound.

"Who's your date anyway?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Azuma smiled slyly at her. "And just so you know, I'm already thinking of a plan to ask her."

"Please, please don't tell me she's one of your rabid fan-girls."

Azuma opened the door to the cafeteria and motioned for Raily to go in first. "No, she's quite nice, and really pretty. I believe you'll like her."

"Whatever you say," Raily went inside and the whole cafeteria became silent.

_Can't I go somewhere where people will stop staring at me? _Raily gave an annoyed sigh.

"Raily-chan, let's eat outside. I'll find us a table." Azuma paid no mind to the gaping people.

"Okay, I'll go get food first." Raily walked towards the lunch line and surveyed the food. "Hmmm… pasta… chicken… eh… that chicken looks good…"

"You have a lot of nerve doing that."

_Great, what now? _Raily turned around to face who had spoken. It was a blonde girl that for some reason closely resembled an older, more developed version of Mira with her facial features and body structure, like seeing her in the future or something. Interestingly, this Mira-look-alike in front of Raily was wearing a bow that indicated she was from the third year, behind her were a group of fellow girl seniors scowling at Raily.

_What, now even seniors hate me? Do ALL girls hate me now? _Raily pasted on a smile. "Can I help you?"

Mira-look-alike took a step closer to Raily and glared down at her like she was some bug. "I can't believe you would do such a _revolting _thing!"

Raily's mind was blank. "What are you talking about?"

"Using Yunoki-sama to get into the concours!"

"_What?" _Raily thought it was so ridiculous, she wanted to laugh.

"Don't act like you don't know."

"Uh, ME using YUNOKI?" Raily couldn't help it, she laughed. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"You even have the nerve to laugh at us, your seniors!" The girls looked ready to murder her right there. "If you didn't use Yunoki-sama, then how do you explain yourself getting into the concours?!"

"Are you saying that my skills aren't good enough for the concours?" Raily narrowed her eyes at them.

"Read this." The girl took out her phone and held it out to Raily.

"And if I don't want to?" Raily said stubbornly.

The girl shoved the phone in Raily's face in response. "_**READ IT**__."_

After rolling her eyes, Raily fixed her gaze on the screen and read the text message.

_Hanami Raily, new participant of the concours, does not know how to read notes. She is not a real violinist. She knows nothing. How can we let her, a disgrace to the music department, participate in the school's musical concours?!_

"Wha- How did you get this?!" Raily felt her throat constrict and her face flush red. _Does every person know about this? _

By the looks other music students are giving her in the cafeteria, it was evident that they all received the same message.

"Oh, there's _more_," The girl pressed some buttons and showed her a new message.

_Hanami Raily, new participant of the concours, got expelled from her old school in an unknown province for improper conduct. Just yesterday, she threatened the life of one of the students in her class. How can we let her, a disgrace to the music department, participate in the school's musical concours?!_

"Do you really think you can get away with all of this?" The one with the phone took a step towards her. "You better think twice, you shameless girl. If your old school doesn't want you because of the way you are, do you think we'd be any different?"

"You better just drop out of the concours, or better yet, just _drop out of school." _A girl in the back stepped in.

"Compared to us, you are _nothing. _You deserve _nothing. _There's just no way you belong here._"_

"You know what," Raily raised her hand up and the girls stepped back in reaction. But instead of doing something to them like they thought, she brought her hand towards her neck and pulled the red bow from her collar. "You're right. I don't belong here."

She threw her ribbon to the girls and ran to the door but not before seeing the satisfied looks on the faces of Mira's three wrenches.

"Damn it, don't cry." Raily kept repeating to herself as she ran in the halls of Seiso. But no matter how much she said that, tears were rolling down her face. "You knew something like this would happen, so… don't cry….you stupid girl." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, but soon new ones started to replace the ones she got rid of.

People passing by the halls were staring at her but no one dared to go after her and she was glad of that. She didn't want any fake sympathy. In her eyes all of them are just the same as the girls from a while ago. Right now, she just wanted to be alone. She thought about going to the garden but then she remembered Ryoutarou and decided against it.

She spotted the school gates a few feet away. Students are not allowed to leave school without permission before dismissal time but right now, she really didn't care about that. She neared the gates and fled.

End of Chapter 8

* * *

Heyhey,

I think this was the last chapter I made before? lol I've thought really really hard about the next chapters,

so I hope that you would all like it. :) Please tell me what you think, so that I can make it all better. I'm still learning in this. lol

-Katelyn


	9. Tsukimori's Frustrations

Chapter 9

Tsukimori's Frustrations

* * *

"Yu-Yunoki-sama, would you like more tea?"

Azuma turned towards the blushing girl standing beside him. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

"Is there… is there anything else you want?" The girl asked, stuttering.

Azuma shook his head and smiled.

"O-okay, um, I'll be going now, Yunoki-sama." The girl bowed and went off somewhere.

Azuma relaxed back in the bench and saw Kazuki suddenly come running towards him.

"Yunoki!!"

"What's the matter, Hihara?" Azuma asked with a calm smile.

"Look at this!" Kazuki held out his cell phone for Azuma to see.

"Hmm?" Azuma leaned in to read the text message.

_Hanami Raily, new participant of the concours, got expelled from her old school in an unknown province for improper conduct. Just yesterday, she threatened the life of one of the students in her class. How can we let her, a disgrace to the music department, participate in the school's musical concours?!_

Azuma lost the usual smile in his face almost instantly as he looked up at Hihara in surprise.

"There are many more texts like these. All of them are bad stuff about Raily-chan!"

Kazuki showed him the other texts. One was about her not being able to read notes, the other one about bribing the principal to get into the concours, the other one about using Yunoki.

Azuma frowned. "Who sent these to you?"

"It's from an unknown sender. I think that the whole Music Department has received texts like these! Maybe you have them too,"

Azuma took out his phone and turned it on. Undeniably, he received the very same texts that Kazuki had.

"How could they say that about Raily-chan?" Kazuki cried out. "That's just too mean!"

_Raily. She's taking too long to get her lunch. _Azuma quickly got up from his chair and walked hastily towards the inside of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Yunoki, where are you going?" Kazuki hurried after him.

Azuma had just stepped inside the cafeteria when he was instantly surrounded by girls. Gritting his teeth in frustration and anxiety, he pushed the girls aside causing multitudes of gasps as he looked around for Raily. _Where is she? She's not here!_

"Yunoki-sama! Is there something wrong?" The girls whined in their high-pitched voices.

Warning bells started ringing in Azuma's head as he worried about where Raily could be right now. The irking noise coming from those girls didn't make the panic in his head get any better. "_Everybody shut up_!"

There was silence in the whole cafeteria as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at an outraged Azuma. Even Kazuki was shocked by this.

"You." Azuma pointed to the blonde Mira-like senior girl who he knew was the supposed "president" of the Yunoki fan club/bodyguards/obsessed freaks. "Where is Hanami Raily?"

The girl swallowed deeply before shrugging her shoulders. "I do not know where she is, Yunoki-sama,"

Azuma's cool eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "I will ask again._ Where _did you bring her?"

The girl, more scared than ever, fought the urge to run and hide. "But- but Yunoki-sama! We did nothing wrong! We just… we just protected you from her evil schemes!" She cried out to her defense.

"Just tell us where Raily-chan is, Tatsuko." Kazuki said in a firm voice.

The helpless girl, Tatsuko, looked frantically at the girls behind her and then towards Azuma. "I don't know where she is. She just ran away."

Angrily, Azuma glared at all of them. "If something happens to Raily, I swear I'm going to wring each of your skinny little necks until I hear them snap, do you hear me?" He turned and walked brusquely out of the cafeteria doors.

Kazuki was about to follow him when someone called him from behind.

"K-kazuki-sempai!"

Turning around, Kazuki saw Shouko and noticed how her eyes were filled with concern.

"I... I saw Ha-hanami-san," Shouko stuttered.

Kazuki straightened up. "Where?"

Trying to stop her stuttering, she said quickly. "I- I was walking in the corridor whe-when she ran past me-"

"She did? Did you know where she went?" Kazuki interrupted, suddenly alert.

"I called her name but-but she just continued running…" Shouko said. "She was r-running towards the school gates."

"What?" Kazuki's eyes widen. "But she doesn't know her way around here! I have to tell Yunoki!" He had turned towards the doors when he looked back at Shouko and hollered his thanks.

"I hope Hanami-san will be alright," Shouko said softly. She too had also been a victim of the bullies in the music department and yesterday when she was walking towards her classroom she witnessed for the first time someone standing up against those mean girls. At that moment she felt encouraged and wanted to be more like Raily. She really didn't want Raily to lose now.

------------

As soon as Kazuki told Azuma about the news that Raily had already left the school premises, Azuma quickly took out his phone and called his father.

"What is it, Azuma? I'm busy right now." Takashi said in a gruff voice.

"Otou-sama," Azuma said urgently into the phone. "Raily has gone missing."

"_What?" _Came his father's reply.

"Someone saw her leave the school. We're worried she might get lost." Azuma said.

"Alright. I'll have my men around looking for her. You stay in school in case she comes back."

"Hai, Otou-sama." Azuma hang up the phone and held on to the railings, looking across the school gates. He and Kazuki were up the roof, trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of dark hair running below. There was no such luck.

Letting out a rugged sigh, Azuma tightened his grip on the railings.

"Don't worry, Yunoki. Your father's men will find her. She'll be okay." Kazuki said comfortingly.

Azuma nodded slightly but didn't say anything. He felt so bad right now. Partly because he knew it was his fault that she was suffering like this. If only his stupid fan girls weren't such irritating bitches. And though he tried to deny it, he was also worried sick. The city was big and Raily had not been properly guided around yet. And to add to that, Raily had just been hurt. Severely, it would seem. Who knows now what she would do at a time like this.

Those thoughts were running around Azuma's head when the door to the roof suddenly creaked open and Len emerged.

"Tsukimori?" Kazuki asked, incredulous. "What are you doing here?"

"She left, didn't she?" Len tossed two packs of bread towards Kazuki and Azuma, leaving one for himself in his hand.

Both of them were shocked that he knew about Raily, but probably even more shocked that Len even had the graciousness to bring them food to eat.

Azuma looked down at the piece of bread and cursed. _Raily must not have eaten yet. Did she bring any money with her to buy food?_

"She's not alone," Len muttered.

"Eh?" Azuma and Kazuki looked at him.

Len sighed. "I saw that camera girl run after her."

"Camera girl… you mean the photographer Nami Amou?" Kazuki filled in.

"Yes, Amou-san."

"She's with Raily?" Azuma asked again to make sure.

Len nodded.

"Thank God," Azuma sighed as he was filled with a sudden surge of relief that at least Raily wasn't alone out there.

"But how did you know, Tsukimori?" Kazuki asked. "Fuyuumi-chan also saw Raily running but she didn't mention seeing Amou."

Len shrugged. "Maybe she didn't see Amou-san."

"Well, whatever. At least in that way she's safer, right Yunoki?" Kazuki put his arm around Azuma jubilantly. "See, everything's gonna be fine!"

Azuma gave a small smile. "I hope so."

Sitting down at one of the benches, Len opened the plastic of his bun and took a bite. Kazuki sat down beside him and opened his lunch as well.

"You're not going back down?" He asked, nudging Len in the side.

Len glanced up and wrinkled his nose. "It's too noisy. After what Yunoki-senpai did, things got a little too wild for my taste."

Kazuki chuckled at that. "Is there even _anything_ that has ever been at par with your taste?"

Len glared at him and Kazuki quickly tried to change course, remembering the food he brought for them.

"Actually I was blown away there too, Yunoki." Kazuki said instead.

"I admit I lost control," Azuma sighed and opened up his bread. "It's just that they went overboard this time. I couldn't stop myself anymore."

"Are you kidding? That was the most brilliant Yunoki I've ever seen!" Kazuki exclaimed as he bit into the soft bread.

"Really now?" Azuma chortled. "It did feel strange, but somehow… also a bit fulfilling."

Kazuki shivered, remembering the neck-snapping threat Azuma used earlier.

"You've been holding it in for too long," Len supplied. "Your step-sister on the other hand, she's been aggressive a little too much for her own good."

"Really, is that what you think?" Azuma asked, a bit amused.

_Why did I just say that? _Len grimaced. Damnit, he was Tsukimori Len. He wasn't supposed to care.

"I think that Hanami-chan was only defending herself," Kazuki commented. "I don't think she's so bad."

"No, she's not bad, she's just- I'm sorry to say this Yunoki-senpai- but she's stupid. She needs to learn to walk away," Len then instantly shut his mouth when he realized what he had just said out loud. _Again, why am I saying this nonsense?! _

"Is that so?" Azuma was definitely gaining a lot of insights from this.

"Yes. It's quite obvious that she wouldn't have gotten into all of that trouble if she had only just stayed quiet. If she had done that, she would not have been the new plaything of those distasteful, jealous, conceited _girls_- if that's what you even call them." Len realized that the tone in his voice was nothing but venomous and he found it weird why he just suddenly couldn't control his mouth anymore. _Why won't I- why CAN'T I SHUT UP? _

"And you are affected by this, yes?" Azuma asked, calmly.

_Yes. _"Of course not, I was merely stating the fact that talented people should just steer away from worthless, jealous, pretentious classmates."

"Oh, I suppose Raily is one of those 'talented people'?" Azuma nodded knowingly.

_Yes. _"I was speaking in terms of the whole population of the music department, Yunoki-senpai." Len tried to do a little chant to remind him what kind of person he's supposed to be. _I am cold. I am Tsukimori Len. I am a child prodigy and I am cold. I am bitter. I am uncaring. I do not care. Shit. I have got to get out of here._

Before he had a chance to stand up and leave, Kazuki laid down a heavy question that made Len freeze in place.

"The seniors… they didn't start this, did they?" Kazuki asked.

Len glanced at him. "No," he said finally. "It started in class."

"I think you should tell the story from the start, Tsukimori-kun." Azuma sat in the bench across them and listened as Len somehow hesitantly narrated what had happened starting from yesterday.

_Maybe after I tell Hanami's story I can finally stop caring. It's none of my business. Remember. I am cold, bitter, uncaring. Damn, this chant does not work at all._

End of Chapter 9

_

* * *

_

Heeey,

So how was it? I was afraid that I have made it too emo or something, so please Review and tell me what you think of this chapter.

I tried my best... lol Hoped you like it! :)

-Katelyn


	10. Shizune's Noodles

Chapter 10

Shizune's Noodles

* * *

Having no sense of direction on where she is going, Raily walked aimlessly down the road that led to nowhere in particular that she is familiar of. _Damn, I'm hungry. _Raily considered getting food from a nearby kiosk and dug in her skirt pockets. _Shit. I had put the allowance money in my violin case! _Now getting hungrier by the second, Raily tried to think about what other options she had left.

First, she could call her mom and ask someone to pick her up there, wherever "there" was.

Second, she could go back to school… and get her money.

The first seemed reasonable enough. The only problem was, she has neither cell phone nor coins to use in the phone booth.

Stopping for a while, she then noticed a shadow behind her. Turning around and finding no one behind her, she looked around and found a patch of light brown hair above the cart to her right that had apples for sale.

Raily sweatdropped. "You know, Amou-san, that's not a very good hiding place."

Slowly getting up, Amou smiled impishly. "Sorry, I wanted to know where you were going so I thought I'd hide a little."

Raily sighed. "You followed me out of school?"

"Of course, you do owe me that much." Amou walked towards her.

"What are you talking about?" Raily crossed her arms over her chest.

"The big scoop! This is it, right? You getting in the concours?" Amou wiggled her eyebrows.

Raily blinked at her. "You must be joking."

"Nope." Amou held up her camera. "Come on, it's got to be the biggest news _ever_."

"Why? Because of the rumors going around?" Raily glared at her. "Well, too bad for you I'm already quitting." She turned and walked away from Amou.

"What? Why?!" Amou walked faster to catch up with Raily. "And what rumors are you talking about?"

"Oh please, like you don't already know." Raily rolled her eyes.

"No, I don't." Amou tried to walk alongside her. "Can you just stop and tell me what exactly made you _quit_?"

Raily looked at her sharply. "_If _you don't already know, you can ask anyone from the music department when you get back to school. _They _know."

"Urg, come on. Hanami Raily, don't make this so hard." Amou begged. "Let's just sit down and talk about it. What about some noodles? Yeah? I'll treat you."

Upon hearing the word "noodles", Raily abruptly stopped walking. _Damn body betrays me at a time like this. Just can't function well without food. _

"Leave me alone," Raily said, thought not very convincing.

Sensing some advantage, Amou smiled at Raily. "Are you sure you don't want some _hot, steamy, beef, chicken _noodles?"

"Alright, alright. I give in." Raily glared at her.

Laughing, Amou led her towards the plaza and they stopped at a shop with a signed above that said: "Shizune's Kitchen, home of Ramen."

Compared to the other chain of restaurants in the plaza that looked modern and vibrant, Shizune's Kitchen looked more plain and traditional.

Raily smiled, instantly thinking of the small teahouse that Dana's parents owned. Amou slid open the thin wooden sliding door and went in while Raily stood peering inside.

The place was almost empty except for two men talking. The first one had dark violet hair and was standing inside the counter table, while the other one sitting across him with her back to Raily had dark brown hair. Both of them looked vaguely familiar to her but with the dim light inside, she couldn't see well.

"Welcome to Shizune's Kitchen!" The violet-haired man raised his head to greet the newcomer and both of his eyebrows shot up. "Ara, didn't I just see you about an hour or so ago in my office?"

Raily had to hold on to the sides of the door to keep her from falling in surprise. "K-K-kanazawa-sensei… !!!"

The other man also turned around and Raily gasped when she saw who he was.

"Sano-sensei?!"

"Hanami Raily," Sano grunted. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"W..what.." Raily could barely speak. It's just too weird to be running away from school one second and then suddenly bump into two teachers just a few minutes after. It was if she just couldn't escape from Seiso.

"What? Those two are Seiso teachers?!" Amou asked, her mouth agape.

"Eh…Why don't you two come inside?" Kanazawa asked.

When Raily hesitated, Kanazawa just sighed and pointed to the seat beside Sano in the counter table. "Come in and sit down, I can hear your stomach grumbling from here."

She knew that he was kidding but since she was indeed feeling hungry, Raily stepped inside and both of them hesitantly sat down beside the teacher who had scolded Raily endlessly just this morning.

"I'll get you both today's Special." Kanazawa disappeared somewhere in the back.

Sano took his chopsticks and started eating his food as Raily sat there, drumming her fingers in the wooden countertop.

"Look… I'll just eat whatever Kanazawa-sensei's getting me, and then I'm out." Raily said, finally breaking the silence.

Sano just kept on eating. "You do know that as a student, you are not allowed to be outside of school until-"

"Until dismissal time unless I have a valid excuse, I know," Raily then realized that she was snapping at a teacher, a scary teacher to add. "Uh- sorry, didn't mean to cut you off like that. I just… urg, nevermind."

Sano put down his chopsticks and then looked at her pointedly. "Well, do you have one?"

Raily looked confused. "Have what?"

"An excuse, genius." Sano retorted.

"I... uh…" Raily looked to Amou for answers but being clueless herself, Amou just shrugged.

"Here it is," Kanazawa returned with a big bowl of noodles steaming in his hands. He served each of them with spoons and chopsticks.

"Thanks," Raily and Amou said quietly. They gingerly took a spoon and tried the soup.

"Hey! This stuff's actually good." Raily exclaimed.

"_Actually, _huh?"

Raily paused. "I wasn't implying anything by that."

"Yeah, sensei, it tastes awesome." Amou added, trying to help.

"Relax. I was only kidding." Kanazawa winked. "The ramen here is the best in Japan."

Nodding, Raily reached for her chopsticks. But before she started eating, she needed to know one thing. "By the way, Sensei's first name is not… Shi..zune, is it?"

Kanazawa looked blank at first but then he burst out laughing.

"Could it be that Raily-chan…" Amou also started giggling.

"You're more stupid than I thought." Sano murmured.

Raily felt her cheeks redden. "WHAT? I just thought that since this place is called Shizune's Kitchen…."

"Shizune's my sister," Kanazawa finally replied. "She'll just be gone for an hour or so. I'm just filling in for her until she gets back."

"Oh… so you don't actually work here?" Raily said in between mouthfuls of noodles.

"No," Kanazawa smiled. "Sano and I just came here today with the intention of eating lunch."

"Oh, okay." Raily glared at Amou who was still smiling like an idiot.

"And you two? What are Seiso students doing outside of school?"

Raily gulped down her noodles and smiled wobbly. "Uh, with the intention of eating lunch?"

"Why don't you just save us the trouble and tell us what's got you running here?" Sano rumbled.

"Yes, Raily-chan, go on," Amou urged her. "Let's hear everything from the start."

Raily looked down on her bowl. "I don't think I want to go back to Seiso anymore."

Very much interested with what she was hearing, Amou quickly reached for a pen and a notepad from her pocket. She then started writing whatever Raily said.

"Are you serious?" Kanazawa shifted his gaze to her then to Sano, and then finally to her again. "You just got into the concours!"

"That's kinda the main reason." Raily murmured.

"What, the pressure of the concours already getting to you?" Sano said sarcastically.

"The whole music department- no, the _whole school_- hates me now, okay?" Raily snapped at him. "They hate me because I got into the concours when I don't know how to read notes! They hate me because they think I'm using Yunoki Azuma to _get_ into the concours! So you tell me! What_ can _I do now?!"

"Raily-chan…" Amou bit her lip. So that was the reason why Raily didn't want anyone to know that Yunoki was going to be her brother. She had no idea…

The two teachers were silent for a long time until they felt Raily start to calm down.

"Hanami," Kanazawa started. "You know more than anyone that you can't just run away."

"I'm not running away." Raily said defensively.

"Then what do you call that, idiot?" Sano gaffed.

Raily set her lips in a thin line. "It's not that I'm scared of them or anything. I just don't want to go there anymore."

"Why? Do you agree with what those people are saying about you?" Sano snarled.

"No, it's not even like that!" Raily breathed. "I know I came from a small town, I know I'm too poor to even afford to have someone teach me notes, but when I play the violin, it's really me. There's no Azuma, there's no principal, there's just me." Raily sighed. "Does that even make sense?"

"Hanami, if it didn't, you wouldn't be in my class today." Sano rolled his eyes.

"…Huh?" Raily then realized what he meant and uncontrollably grinned. "Whoah whoah. Wait a minute. You_ think_ I'm good, don't you, Sano-sensei?"

Sano scoffed."You think too highly of yourself, girl."

Raily slumped. "Yeah, you're right. I was just hoping. I mean, why else do you keep torturing me every single day?"

Upon hearing that, Kanazawa chuckled.

"What's funny?" Raily asked, confused.

"Sano only chooses to terrorize those he deem to have talent." Kanazawa smiled. "For some reason, those students always end up in the concours, even in international contests."

"….then that means that…"

Sano rolled his eyes. "Don't let it get to your head. I terrorize _everyone._"

"Well, yeah, but now that I think about it…. I heard that you used to terrorize Tsukimori a lot in the past too…."

"Ahh…" Amou had a lot of notes in now.

"Alright," Sano pushed himself off his seat. "I'm leaving,"

"Hey! Wait!" Kanazawa called to him as he went to the door. "You owe my sister some money for those noodles, man!"

Sano muttered something about paying next time.

Sighing, Kanazawa took Sano's finished bowl and brought it to the kitchen.

"Heard enough?" Raily asked Amou, eyeing the notepad in her hand.

"Yep," Amou shut it close and looked at her in a warm way. "Listen, Raily-chan… just like what your teachers said, I think that you shouldn't give up too."

"Huh. You hardly know me, Nami Amou."

"That may be true… but, the thing is, you _like _playing the violin, right?" Amou asked.

"What are you getting at, man?" Raily raised a brow.

"I'm saying that you should just go for it!" Amou said. "Your reputation might not be so good in school right now, but like you said, they don't know anything right?"

Raily averted her eyes.

"That's why you've got to show them!" Amou said her fist in the air. "Show them what you're made of in the concours!"

"I agree with this girl over here," Kanazawa said upon returning. "Don't waste this opportunity, Hanami."

Raily sighed. "It's easier said than done, you know, Sensei."

Kanazawa scratched his chin. "How about you just go to the training camp this weekend, hmm? See if that could make your resolve stronger."

"Training camp? This weekend?" Amou said, all ears open. "And where might that be?"

"Only concour participants are allowed." Kanazawa said.

Amou sagged. "Fine… hey, hey, Raily-chan, you have to get some good info's about the concour participants for me, okay?"

Raily gave another sigh.

"Just think about it, Hanami." Kanazawa checked his watch. "And… we should be getting back now. Lunch break's over, students."

Raily groaned. "Can't I skip my classes today?"

Kanazawa was hesitant at first but he gave in. "What about you?" He asked Amou.

"Urg, I can't skip English period again." Amou winced. "Guess I have to go back to Seiso."

"Alright, let's get going then."

Kanazawa fixed up the restaurant and the three of them walked out.

"Oh yeah, the payment for the noodles!" Amou reached for her wallet.

Kanazawa stopped her. "There's no need for that."

"You're letting us eat for free?" Raily asked.

Kanazawa sighed. "It feels awkward to take money from students."

Raily and Amou exchanged looks before laughing aloud.

"Alright, alright, jeez. Let's just get going," Kanazawa muttered.

"Hey, Raily." Amou looked at her. "Where are you going now?"

"Uh, home," Raily lied. _Wherever home is…_

They soon reached the intersection where one leads to the beach and the other to the school.

"Well, I'm off here," Raily waved at them.

"Your house is near the beach?" Amou asked suspiciously.

"Tssyeah, why'd you think Azuma has such a calm disposition all the time?" Raily joked. "It's cause of all that fresh air,"

Kanazawa sighed. "Don't wander off, Hanami."

"Yeah, yeah." Raily then remembered her things. "Oh, can you tell Azuma to bring my violin case and bag home?"

"Me?" Kanazawa asked.

"Uhm.... yes? Pleaseee? I mean, Amou's from the General Ed, so it's gonna be harder for her, right?" Raily reasoned.

Kanazawa sighed again. "Alright, alright."

Amou leaned in towards Raily and whispered. "Not everyone in the music department hates you, by the way."

"What do you mean?" Raily asked her, confused.

"How'd you think I found out you were leaving school?" Amou raised her brows.

"How _did _you know?" Raily narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"'Just make sure that woman is safe and doesn't do anything rash on her own,' was what he said, anyway." Amou smiled at her mischievously while she waved and then followed Kanazawa in walking.

"You are such a sneaky monkey!" Raily called. She then turned and walked towards the beach, knowing it's one place she could stay for a while.

"Who could that be?" Raily found herself asking. She was somehow touched by what that person did. _It must be Azuma… but would he have allowed me to leave school just like that? _

Raily sighed and tried to think of something else. She then saw the boardwalk a few miles from where she was at. "The beach…" She headed towards it and walked down the steps of the boardwalk.

The sun was bright above the sky overhead, and she closed her eyes, embracing it all in. It was her first time to be in a beach, breathing in the salty air and feeling the warmth of the sun. Opening her eyes to take off her shoes and socks, she flung them in the stairs and walked barefoot on the hot sand, heading towards the water.

When she reached the part where her ankles are being washed gently by the water, Raily looked at the sun again and started singing softly to herself.

Tears burned in her eyes as she suddenly wished that her best friend was here. Just one smile from Donna, a hug…. _anything_ just to make Raily feel that she's not really alone.

End of Chapter 10

* * *

Tada!

Lol, I have reached Chapter 10 :D How was it? Did you guys like it? Please review! I'm still thinking about what's going to happen next...

buttt I promise I'll update soon, just share your comments okay? :)

-Katelyn


	11. Soccer or Piano?

** xxxx Note: I know it's been so long, so the details and/or characters in this chapter might get confusing. I think it'd be better if you reread some of the past chapters. **

CHAPTER 11

SOCCER OR PIANO?

* * *

During lunch time, while everyone was having a relaxing time eating their meals, the Seiso soccer team was in the field, having extra practice in time for their game next season. They were having a practice match wherein the team of the first years and the second years fight off with the team of seniors. The captain stood in the sidelines observing the game.

"Oi freshmen! Is that all you got?" One of the star-players of the Seiso soccer team (a senior) taunted as he ran after a freshman travelling the ball. "A bit slow, eh?" With fast movements, he had stolen the ball and was aiming for the goal when a green-haired sophomore abruptly slid across and kicked the ball away from the senior.

"GO! TSUCHIURA! GO!" Someone yelled.

That's right. That brazen green-haired sophomore who snatched the ball was none other than _**Ryoutarou Tsuchiura**_.

"UGH! SHIT!! BLOCK HIM! _BLOCK_ HIM!" The furious senior cursed out loud as Ryoutarou easily passed through series of blocks the seniors attempted.

"_**GOAL!**__"_ Ryoutarou pumped up his fist in the air as he once again successfully delivered the soccer ball flying towards the net, gaining another point for their team.

"Alright, Tsuchiura!" His brown-haired buddy, Domeki, gave him a high-five. "Nice job breaking through the senpais' defense!"

Ryoutarou grinned. "Couldn't have done it without you, buddy."

"Time out!" Their captain suddenly called, making Ryoutarou sigh in abandon. In about a minute he knew the captain would come yelling after his name again like he usually did during practice.

"Ara. Looks like you get another buchou-bashing again," Domeki commented.

"Yipee." Ryoutarou said tonelessly as he waited for his captain's angry yell.

"**TSUCHIURA**!"

_And there he blows_. Ryoutarou sighed again as he sauntered towards the captain across the lawn where the seniors were crowded in fury.

"Yes, buchou?" Ryoutarou asked, already preparing himself for the lecture.

"What's this I heard about you getting in the concours?" The captain asked, with the usual scowl in his face.

Ryoutarou was taken aback. He hadn't expected that he would be asked that of all things. Well, not yet anyway.

"So?" The captain said impatiently.

"Uh…" Ryoutarou awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I got in."

"So you _accepted _it?" The captain asked, incredulous.

"Buchou, it's not going to interfere with soccer practice, I promise." Ryoutarou said a bit too defensively.

"Really, now? And when do you suppose you will have the time to practice for your _little_ _piano performance?_"

Ryoutarou felt stung by that but he didn't show it. "Don't worry. I'll find the time."

"No, you've got it wrong, Tsuchiura." The captain crossed his arms over his chest. "In our team, I only need those who can commit to soccer _and soccer only._" He said in emphasis. "So I will ask you again. What is it you will choose?"

Ryoutarou averted his eyes and saw Domeki looking intently at him. _Did Domeki know about this?_

"Buchou… I really don't know," Ryoutarou finally said, exasperated.

"You have until tomorrow Friday, Tsuchiura. And if I find out you're giving me a wrong answer, you're off the team at once." The captain then dismissed him.

_Damn it. I don't _want_ to choose. _Ryoutarou frustratingly stormed out of the soccer field.

"Tsuchiura!" Domeki ran after him and made him stop. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Locker room. Bochou gave me a break," Ryoutarou said, attempting to shed off Domeki.

"Okay, then me too-"

"Domeki," Ryoutarou gritted his teeth. "I want to be alone right now." He then ran fast towards the men's lockers in the regular department's building, leaving behind an anxious Domeki.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Ryoutarou panted as he further increased his speed. He was already near the building when he suddenly caught a flash of familiar black hair going his way.

"Isn't that… Hanami Raily?" Ryoutarou skidded to a stop.

He watched as the girl ran as fast as she could, her long dark hair falling all over her face.

_What's going on? _He thought about stopping her or maybe running after her. But who was he to do that? They hardly know each other. And also as she neared him, he was suddenly overcome with another feeling. This feeling that maybe, just like him, she wanted to be alone. And that's why he just stood there and watched as she ran past him. But just like last time in the garden, he had once again caught a glimpse of her tear-strained face and it twisted his heart.

Even without knowing what has caused her pain, he already knew that this time, it was bigger than before. _Way, way bigger. _And it greatly troubled him.

"Shit." Ryoutarou murmured. He continued on walking but then he stopped again.

"_SHIT!" _He said out loud this time and then he abruptly turned on his path. Instead of going to the locker rooms; he proceeded to the Music Building.

-------------

There was uproar in the Music department's cafeteria.

No, not just an uproar. An uproar involving _outraged women, _it seems. And that is why Ryotarou stood by the door, debating on whether to go inside or not.

Certainly if what's happening inside had something to do with Raily, he would go in… but what if it's not? He's a gen. ed. student, and this is music ed. territory.

"**That Raily bitch, how dare she!" **One had shrieked. **"She needs to pay for what she did!"**

"…Well, I'm convinced." Taking a rugged breath, Ryotarou pushed back the doors and discreetly walked inside; making sure that no one took notice of him as he went in the far back of the crowd.

There were probably fifty female music ed students in the room and in the middle of them all stood six girls. Judging from their bow ties, three were seniors and the other three were second years. They must have been the leaders of the protest going on because one of them had called for silence and everyone had immediately obeyed.

"I have called you all here, both the members of the Yunoki fan club and Tsukimori fan club, to discuss what we must do to get rid of that Raily bitch." Tatsuko said, in a voice that spoke of authority.

"But, why the Tsuki fan-club too?" One of the crowd shouted out.

Tatsuko looked at the second years who were the officers of the Tsukimori fan-club.

The vice president of the Tsukimori fan-club (in short Tsuki fan-club) stepped up. "We also need to take action because we have witnessed not just the ruin of Tatsuko-sama, but also of Mira-sama, our president."

"_Eh_?"

"Mira-sama, too?" Everyone was surprised by this revelation.

"As a matter of fact, she was the one that I was referring to in one of the text messages. The one that Raily had maltreated."

"Indeed, she is a threat to not just the Yunoki fan club, but also to the Tsukimori fan club, as well." Tatsuko confirmed.

"What do we do now, then?" A Yunoki fan asked.

Tatsuko crossed her arms over her chest. "We make sure she doesn't come back here, _ever._"

"How?" Another asked.

"The spread of those text messages were already a warning to her." The VP of Tsuki's Fan Club informed. "If she still has the guts to come back here…"

"I guarantee she won't last long if she goes back." Tatsuko interrupted. "We'll continue to make her feel how much everyone in the music department _hates _her until she is forced to leave completely."

"Tatsuko-sama, I believe that that's too soft," VP said. "We have to make her _pay."_

Tatsuko raised her brow. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, I think that we can-" Before VP could finish, she suddenly noticed Ryoutarou's tall stature and stared at him.

"The gen-ed pianist." VP snarled.

Suddenly all attention was on him and Ryoutarou felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at by music students like he was some freak.

"What do you want from here?" Tatsuko crossed her arms.

_I hate this. _Ryoutarou cleared his throat. "…Buchou wanted me to run laps…"

"And then?"

_Oh, screw it. _Ryoutarou then decided to quit the act. "The truth is, I came here to find out what happened…to Hanami Raily."

Practically everyone in the room had curled their lips up in distaste after the mention of that name.

"It is none of your business, Tsuchiura Ryoutarou." Tatsuko hissed. "Go back to the general education department."

"Look, I don't really know what's going on between you and Hanami-san," Ryoutarou just decided to let it all out. "But, I've met Hanami-san, and I can say that whatever bad things you're accusing her of, they might be just a misunderstanding. Because she's really not that type of girl."

Tatsuko narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you care about that cheater?"

"Cheater?" Ryoutarou's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, that's right. I heard she got into the concours. Is this what this 'cheating' is all about?"

"She's not just a cheater, she's also a slut who doesn't know her place!" the VP added venomously.

_Slut? If I were to describe Hanami Raily, slut would be the LAST thing I would say_. Ryoutarou mused. "Okay, why slut now?"

"She's stealing both Yunoki-sama and Tsukimori-sama!"

_For goodness sake, Yunoki-senpai and Hanami-san are gonna be SIBLINGS. _Ryoutarou wondered why they haven't told the others yet and decided maybe it's not his news to tell.

"Can't you just… forget about what happened?" Ryoutarou attempted.

"That poor no-talent arrogant girl? If you just saw what she did to Mira-sama you wouldn't be saying that!"

"That's right!" One of the Yunoki fans agreed. "And also, Tatsuko-sama! If you have just seen how she had been offended a while ago all because of that bitch Raily!"

"She also can't read notes! Why does she get to join the concours if she can't read notes!"

"Everyone, stop!" Tatsuko raised her arm. "No matter what you say, this gen-ed pianist won't understand. He's not one of us."

Ryoutarou felt his eyelid twitch. _Seriously?_

"All of us music students study day and night to get into the concours and yet you, a _soccer _player get to join just because you can play a bit of Chopin." Tatsuko said in distaste.

_Again. It's Soccer and Concours. _Ryoutarou gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as Tatsuko went on.

"You and that Raily bitch are just the same. Wanting things that are not meant for you. The concours are for _deserving _music students. Like Tsukimori-kun and Yunoki-senpai."

"Oh, senpai, you're forgetting that other one. The newbie gen-ed violinist." VP smirked.

"What was her name again?" Tatsuko pretended to think about it.

"Hino Kaboko, I think!" One of the fans shouted out.

"No, it's Hino Ka_loko_!"

Everyone started laughing after that and Ryoutarou got even more pissed. He could feel himself starting to lose his self-control so he turned and rapidly walked towards the door when he suddenly felt that he had some things to say to these arrogant women.

"Ever since the first selection, you annoying music department bitches just kept on going on and on about why we were chosen for the concours and you weren't." Ryotarou said in a condescending tone. "Frankly, I don't even give a shit if I get into that or not. But now since you're so persistent about it, then I will go. Hino Kahoko and Hanami Raily will go. And one of us is gonna win this shit."

He continued on to the doors. Honestly, he had never said that much curse words in just one breath but he can't deny that it felt _good_.

"You insolent gen ed!"

Ryotuarou looked back and smiled bitterly. "I'm glad I'm not a music student. At least, I wouldn't have gotten such rotten personalities like you do. You can forget about your plans of destroying Hanami Raily, because I simply will not let you get away with that."

He pushed back the doors and got out. _If those bitches were saying the truth about those texts, I'd first have to convince Raily to stay in Seiso…. But how?_

Ryoutarou looked around the hall and saw the poster about the concours.

"_Aha. _The training camp this weekend." Ryoutarou was determined to convince Hanami Raily that she's not alone and that she must go on with the concours.

Now, he has to fix the problem with his buchou. There's no need to wait until Friday because though he wanted to do both soccer and playing the piano, at that moment he had chosen what he really wanted to do. And damn all the consequences.

END OF CHAPTER 11

* * *

**Hey guys,**

**I am so so sorry that it took me long to update, again. I hope you like this chapter! Thanks a lot for those who reviewed my story!**

** You all never fail to keep me motivated! So here's Chapter 11, I would love to hear more of your comments :) **

**I'll really TRY to post the next chapter by later or maybe tomorrow**

**-Katelyn Haven  
**


	12. The Prologue by Yunoki Azuma

Chapter 12

"The Prologue" by Yunoki Azuma

* * *

Raily felt someone or some_thing_ soothingly rubbing her hair.

"It's okay, honey…"

_It's better than okay… it feels really good… _Raily snuggled some more._ Is this the beach water washing my hair? Sigh. So relaxing._

"…I'm so sorry,"

That voice.

_Mom? _Raily instantly opened her eyes and found her mom looking down at her with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Raily sat up and asked, concerned.

"Oh, Raily…." Ayane just pulled her daughter close and hugged her tight.

"Mom?" Raily was looking around her and realized she wasn't on the beach anymore.

She was back on her boring air-conditioned room in the Yunoki household. But… how did she get there? She was very certain she didn't walk home because she didn't have any idea how to get there.

"Mom," Raily pulled back and looked at Ayane. "How did I get back here?"

"Takashi and I came to get you, Rai." Ayane sniffed and wiped her eyes. "You were lying unconscious on the beach."

"I passed out?" Raily frowned."But how did you know I was in the beach?"

"A sensei told Azuma-kun, and he quickly called Takashi." Ayane took Raily's hand. "Raily, honey, can you tell me what happened in school?"

Raily looked down and noticed she had changed into a kimono. "Nothing, mom. It's nothing."

"Raily, it's not _nothing_. I could tell you were crying before you passed out on the beach." Ayane used her free hand to pull Raily's chin gently so they can look eye to eye.

Trying hard not to look the other way, Raily bit her lower lip so that it wouldn't quiver. "I'm just tired."

"Of school?"

"Of everything. I just… I think I wanted to get away for a while." Raily sighed.

Ayane nodded. "I understand. But, Raily, what you did was dangerous. You don't know your way around here yet and you could've gotten hurt."

_Too late, mom. It already hurts. _Raily smiled ruefully. "Is Takashi mad?"

Ayane shook her head. "He was worried, honey. Everyone was."

Raily sighed again. "What time is it?"

"It's 4 pm," Ayane then added with a smile. "Friday,"

"_Friday?_ You're telling me I slept practically for a _day_?_"_

Ayane nodded. "We let you sleep in. I thought you might need the rest."

"Still feel tired, though." Raily muttered.

Ayane patted Raily's hand. "Well, you have the weekend ahead of you, so you'll get more time to rest."

Though Ayane tries to smile and look enthusiastic, Raily could tell that her mom was still worried for her.

"I'm fine, mom. It's just a phase, really. You know, new kid in school and all." Raily joked. Only deep inside it wasn't a joke. What those music department students were doing to her was not funny at all.

"Do you not want to be in Seiso anymore?" Ayane asked gently.

Raily swallowed. "It's just… not how I expect my high school life to be, mom. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, hon. Listen, I'll get you some food now, okay? And then I'll ask Takashi about other schools you can transfer too."

"Thanks,"

Ayane smiled reassuringly before she left the room.

Feeling extremely gutted, Raily leaned back on the wall and looked up at the ceiling. _What am I supposed to do now, Donna? ... Should I transfer?_

As if on cue, Raily suddenly heard a knock on her door. She froze, anticipating.

"Raily-chan?"

Raily sighed when she heard Azuma's voice. She had hoped for a second there that it was Donna who would come for her. _Foolish hope._

"What is it?" Raily called out weakly.

"May I come in?"

Raily hesitated but then Azuma did partially save her. "…Come in."

The door slid open and Azuma went inside with his kimono and padded slippers. His long hair had been tied up in a low ponytail and as usual, even at times like these, he had a smile on his face as he greeted her.

"Hey," Raily responded .

"Raily-chan…" Azuma started.

Raily sighed. "Would you like to sit? It looks like you have something very long to say to me."

Azuma sat on the chair near her desk. "I came to apologize."

_Why is everyone apologizing? _Raily turned to look at her soon-to-be-stepbrother."You know it's not your fault."

Azuma shook his head. "Tatsuko… and the rumors-"

Raily frowned. "Who the hell is Tatsuko?"

"She's... the so-called 'President' of my fan club."

"The senior who bitched me?"

"She is a senior, yes. And also the leader." Azuma replied.

"Right, I remember her." Raily exhaled loudly. "But it's not all you, Azuma. I'm sure you've read the texts. There was a 'RAILY IS VIOLENT TRASH' and a 'SHE CAN'T READ NOTES' too."

"I've heard about what they did in your class the past few days," Azuma clenched his fists underneath his long sleeved kimono.

"Of course you did, you know everything," Raily then realized that being mean to Azuma won't really make her feel any better. "They're right, though. I don't fit in there with those who have talents."

"That's not true. You're really good, Raily-chan, and you'll learn a lot in Seiso-"

Raily shook her head. "C'mon, you know fully well I don't belong there."

"That's not the case…"

"Oh yeah? Tell me then. What happened in school today while I was gone?"

Azuma thought back. "Well, nothing unusual."

"M-hm. No loud _horrays!_ because they've got rid of me?"

"No," Azuma would personally skin those girls alive if there was a _hooray! _heard from any of them.

"Well, _duh._ They won't do that if _you're_ there." Raily said blatantly. "The right person to ask must be Tsukimori."

"Raily-chan, about the concours…"

Raily shrugged. "Please tell Kanazawa-sensei I'm quitting."

Azuma had a feeling she would say that. "I know you feel really upset now, but can you please go to the training camp this weekend? It's just one weekend."

Raily had only one word for that. "Why?"

Azuma studied her for a moment until he came up with the right words. "You are a violinist, Hanami Raily."

"Huh." Raily rolled her eyes. "Everyone with a violin can be a violinist, man."

"Are you certain about that?" Azuma asked in that calm yet manipulative voice of his.

That got her thinking. And Raily thinking meant Azuma got to her. He grinned secretly and pushed some more.

"Are you certain you want to let a big opportunity like this go to waste, Raily-chan?" Azuma continued. "Don't you want to see for yourself how good you can become?"

Raily shook her head, slowly. "That doesn't matter to me."

_It doesn't, huh? _Azuma could feel her hesitation and he knew it took just one more to convince her.

"And your friends back at the North. They bade farewell to you, knowing, _believing_ that you can achieve something great. Isn't running away the same as…_ letting_ _them down_?"

As soon as Azuma said that, Raily had a sudden flashback of her last day with Donna. As that scene played in her mind, Raily remembered that Donna _did _believe in her. _"Show them what a real violinist can do." _Was what her best friend said.

Seeing her zone out like that, Azuma speculated that she was _really _hesitating now. He sensed something interesting is definitely about to happen in the training camp this weekend.

"I hope you'll think about it, Raily-chan… Kazuki, and I-- and also Tsuchiura-kun will be waiting for you tomorrow."

"…Tsuchiura?" Raily looked at Azuma in confusion.

Azuma smiled. "He called me just a while ago, asking if he can speak with you. You were still sleeping so I told him to call again later." He got up his seat. Of course, he didn't mention that Tsuchiura had prodded him to help convince Raily to go to the camp. Well, Raily didn't need to know that, not yet anyway.

"Oh, and also your date. Let's not forget about him." Azuma chuckled when he saw Raily really widen her eyes in shock.

"Tsukimori… he-… he…. He _wants _me to go tomorrow?!" Raily found that hardly believable.

"He sees you as a comrade, it seems." After their talk on the rooftop, Azuma knew fully well that it's not just camaraderie that blue-haired boy is feeling about Raily. But, since Azuma found developments intriguing to the bones, he decided to leave that part out too and just enjoy the show that's about to enfold.

First, Tsukimori's talk and then that call from Tsuchiura. Hmm. Very intriguing, indeed.

_And the show will all start tomorrow at camp. _Azuma thought of another interesting idea . "Ne, Raily-chan, maybe you can finally ask Tsukimori-kun to be your date during camp. You do get to spend the whole weekend together, after all."

Raily glared at him so hard a normal person would go running back to his room to hide. But of course, Azuma wasn't a normal person. So he was just pleasantly laughing inside as he watched Raily turn vicious.

"Why can't you shut up about that?" Raily snapped. "You know that I was just distracted at that time so I told that Diamond person that Tsukimori will be my date."

"Raily-chan… is he not your type?" Azuma asked suddenly.

Raily blushed at that. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Tsukimori-kun's a fine man. Rich, handsome, talented… what is missing, then?" Azuma had finished interrogating Len in the rooftop and since he's got nothing better to do at the moment, why not do some questioning on Raily's side?

"It's none of your business, Azuma!" Raily sputtered. "What I look for in a guy does not concern you at all."

"But, Raily-chan, did you forget? I'm going to be your nii-san soon." Azuma smiled widely. "Of course I should know what kind of man my future brother-in-law would be."

"Get out!" Raily grabbed a pillow on the bed and threw it at him. "**Get outta my room!**"

Laughing incessantly, Azuma finally excused himself from Raily's room.

If Azuma was all happy-happy. Raily on the other hand, found herself no longer gutted, but confused. She till couldn't get over that mystery dude who talked Nami Amou into following her outside of school the other day.

_Tsuchiura. Could it be that he was the one who sent Amou? _

_Or… Tsukimori? _

_HELL, it can't be Tsukimori. That I'm sure of… _

Raily got up the bed and paced around the room. "Urg. Fine, fine. Damn it. I'm going tomorrow! But that doesn't mean I'm going back to Seiso. Or that I'm getting back at the concours. No way."

When she was finally satisfied with that resolution, she got her violin case and checked the pockets for the reply slip that needed to be signed by her parents. She'll have to talk to her mom about that_. _Well, and Takashi 's just been Ayane and Raily for a long time, and so she found it really strange that there's now someone who's soon going to replace his cheating bastard of a dad.

She just hopes that her mom made the right decision in marrying Takashi. Because going to Seiso… Raily felt that it wasn't a very good idea.

End of Chapter 12

* * *

**To all my favorite readers,**

**TRAINING CAMP PART I will start in the next chapter, :D please be patient in waiting for it!**

**Thanks thanks! Don't forget to review!**

**-Katelyn**


	13. Training Camp Part I

Chapter 13

Training Camp Part I

* * *

Saturday:

When Ryoutarou arrived at the train station where the concour participants were supposed to meet for the training camp, he was surprised to find only Kanazawa-sensei and Tsukimori.

"Ah, Tsuchiura's here." Kanazawa nodded when Ryoutarou greeted the teacher.

"Good morning, Kanazawa-sensei." Ryoutarou looked around him. "….Where's everyone?"

Kanazawa sighed. "How should I know? I thought I reminded them all that we meet here at exactly 8."

"Uh, sensei, you never mentioned anything about our meeting place and time." Ryoutarou pointed out. "Well, not to me. I had to find out by reading the circular."

"What?" Kanazawa turned to Tsukimori. "Are you sure I didn't tell you?"

Len just crossed his arms and stared at the teacher like _duh._

"Well, they're grown-ups." Kanazawa said defensively. "They should've read the circular, anyway."

Ryoutarou sweatdropped and wondered if they were going to reach the place on time. Though he tried to deny thinking it, he can't help but wonder if a certain dark-haired someone would come and join them.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Raily grumbled as she sank lower in the leather seats of the car.

"It won't be so bad, Raily-chan." Azuma assured. "Besides, you were the one who made the decision to join the training camp, right?"

Raily grunted. A part of her knows that she had been tricked into agreeing to go this weekend camp; but then the other part of her feels differently. _Well, can't back out now._ They were just a few blocks away from the train station and so with no more way out, she decided to give in and to hell with the consequences.

"Eh? Isn't that Hino-san?"

Raily turned to the windows to where Azuma was pointing at. The redhead violinist was on the sidewalk across them, almost running with her violin case.

"Why don't we give her a ride?" Azuma asked, already sliding down the window and asking the chauffeur to stop the car in the side.

"Hino-san," Azuma called out but Kahoko didn't hear him.

"Hino-san, Hino-san," Azuma tried and tried but failed to get her attention.

_Geez, can't he shout louder? _Raily rolled her eyes and decided to do it. "OI! HINO KAHOKO!"

Kahoko stopped and turned to look at who called her.

"Y…yunoki-senpai? Hanami-san?" Kahoko gasped.

"Let us take you to the train station, Hino-san." Azuma smiled and he opened the door for her.

"Eh… but…"

"Get in already." Raily said. "Or we're gonna be late."

"Um okay…" Kahoko got in and the car made its way to the meeting place.

In the meantime, back at the station, the two freshmen Shouko and Keichii as well as Kazuki had arrived. They were now waiting for only three- or possibly two- concour participants before they could take the train and leave.

They didn't have to wait long before they saw Azuma's tall stature not too far away. He walked side by side with Kahoko as if they were strolling leisurely in the park. Kazuki waved madly towards them.

"Yunoki! Kaho-channnnnn!" Kazuki called out with his loud and cheerful voice.

Ryoutarou pursed his lips. _Hanami didn't come huh?_

But then as Azuma approached them, Ryoutarou saw a trace of black hair and Hanami Raily emerged from behind Azuma. He couldn't help brightening up after seeing her.

"Good morning, everyone." Azuma greeted them with the usual smile on his face.

Raily noticed that everyone was trying hard not to stare at her. She could almost see the thinking bubbles on the top of their heads saying one thing: Why is she still here?

_Don't worry, I'm wondering the same thing. _She thought to herself. _To hell with the consequences, huh? It's just my pride and reputation that goes down the drain for this. No biggie... NOT. _Sighing, Raily turned the other way and suddenly met eyes with Len. It only lasted for less than a second, but Raily felt like it had been an eternity. _God, what was that? _

Swallowing hard, she glanced at Len again, hoping to look casual. Judging by the way he put his attention to Kanazawa who was informing the students of the plans for the four-day camp, Len didn't look half as affected as she had been. In fact, he looked like his usual self, stone-faced and confident.

"So, that's the plan for this training camp." Kanazawa cleared his throat, bring Raily back from her thoughts. "The train leaves in five minutes, so let's go."

Everyone got their bags and started following Kanazawa towards the platform. Raily watched as everyone got in the train.

"Are you alright, Raily-chan?" Azuma asked when he saw that Raily hesitated getting inside the train.

Raily took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine." Raily stepped inside the train and watched as the doors close in front of her. "Training camp, here I go."

After a couple of hours, the concour participants and Kanazawa reached their location for the training camp.

"Wow…_This_ is where we're staying?" Kazuki's jaw was hanging down when he saw the huge mansion that was owned by Fuyuumi Shouko's family.

"Yeah…" Kanazawa responded distractedly. Even he was surprised by how big and grand the mansion they were staying at.

"Fuyuumi-chan, your family really owns this?" Kahoko asked in wonder.

"Uh... yes." Shouko replied meekly. "My-my parents allowed us to…to use the holiday villa this weekend."

When Shouko rang the doorbell, a middle-aged woman who was Shouko's maid, greeted them.

"Please do come inside." The house help, Tomida, held the door open for them. "Dinner will be served soon."

The inside of the house was full of exotic and exquisite items from abroad. Shouko shyly explained that her father was into collecting foreign valuables, especially ones from the West.

"Well, it _is_ an amazing collection," Azuma said, chuckling.

"Alright, alright. First things first. Room assignments. Tomida-san has informed me that there are four rooms in the house." Kanazawa said. "I'll be taking one, the girls one, and so it leaves two rooms for you boys."

"I'll share a room with Yunoki!" Kazuki volunteered.

"Alright then. Tsukimori, Tsuchiura, and Shimizu, you okay with sharing a room?" Kanazawa asked.

The look on his face made Raily think that Ryoutarou most definitely did _not _want to share a room with Len. A glance at Len also revealed the same.

"Fine. It's just for three nights, right?" Ryoutarou muttered. "I can handle that."

Len put his arms over his chest. "As long as he does not cause any problems, I am fine with sharing a room with him and Shimizu-san."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure that Your Highness is very comfortable." Ryoutarou said, glaring at him.

"Whoah, whoah. Let's stop now, guys." Kazuki said, laughing nervously. "We just got here, so don't fight anymore okay?"

The two second-year boys glared at each other one more time before turning away.

Kahoko sighed. "They don't get along very well."

"Obviously," Raily remarked. "What happened between them anyway?"

"It seems that their personalities don't quite… blend well." Azuma said, with his usual creepy smile.

It was Kanazawa's turn to sigh. "Let's just eat dinner and then we can all get some rest."

"Sensei, when will you tell us the theme for the second selection?" Len questioned. "I only came to this training camp because you said you will announce it here."

Everyone looked at Kanazawa in anticipation.

"Well, I'll let you know now that I'll be announcing the theme at the final day." Kanazawa smiled. "So let's just all do our best and have fun, okay?"

After dinner, everyone started going to their specific rooms. When Raily got in the girls' room, she only found Shouko fixing the bed.

"Where's Hino?" Raily asked.

"She-she still hasn't come in yet." Shouko replied quietly.

"Oh." Raily looked around the room. Like the rest of the house, this room was huge and furnished elegantly.

"Hanami-senpai…"

It took Raily a while to realize Shouko was talking to her. "Oh. Sorry, what is it?"

"Um… You and Hino-senpai can have the bed." Shouko said meekly. "I'll just sleep on the floor."

"No, no." Raily argued. "You can sleep with Hino on the bed. I'm fine with the sofa."

"But—"

"Seriously, the sofa's fine." Raily got out her clothes for the night. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom to change and wash up, okay?"

"But, the bed-"

Raily sighed. "Honestly, I'm fine sleeping in the sofa. Or the floor even. Don't worry about it, okay?" She smiled at the shy girl before leaving the room.

The bathroom was across the hall, and as she walked towards it she saw Ryoutarou and Kahoko standing and talking with each other.

It looked like they were talking about something important, because Kahoko looked really deflated and Ryoutarou was trying to lighten her up.

"It's really not your fault, Hino." Ryoutarou was saying.

"But… the soccer club and the concours… how can you…" Kahoko lowered her gaze.

"I'll figure it out." Ryoutarou put a hand on her shoulder. "Hino, don't mind it anymore, okay?" When he saw Raily nearing them, he immediately put down his hand.

"Hanami-san." Ryoutarou cleared his throat in awkwardness.

Kahoko turned and waved to Raily.

_Geez. I just walked in on an almost-moment between them. _Raily too suddenly felt awkward. "I'm just, um, going to the bathroom, so just uh, go on with whatever you're doing."

As Raily strode past them, she heard Ryoutarou mutter goodnight to Kahoko before going inside his own room. _Tsuchiura and Hino, huh? _ Raily snickered.

* * *

The next day:

Ryoutarou and Len were fired up as they sat eating breakfast. Talking about the concours the night before had made them even more motivated to win against each other.

The two of them stared at each other, as if tauntingly. Ryoutarou put down his utensils and stood up.

"Eh? You're done already, Tsuchiura-kun?" Kahoko asked in surprise.

Ryoutarou pushed back his chair. "Yeah, I can't stand looking at his face anymore."

Len also did the same. "I'm going to practice."

"Well, they're excited." Kanazawa commented. "You guys start practicing too after you eat."

"And what will _you_ be doing, Kanazawa-sensei?" Raily asked pointedly.

_Sleeping. Smoking cigarettes. Lazing around. _"I will be supervising everyone, of course." Kanazawa replied. "I also have some paperwork to do. It's not easy being the teacher-in-charge of the concours, you know."

"Sure it is," Raily said saracastically.

"Well, I'm going to practice now." Azuma excused himself from the table. Shouko also followed suit.

"Since there are eight of you and there are only three sound-proof rooms in the Fuyuumi mansion, some of you have to find some other places to practice, okay?" Kanazawa got up and lit up another cigarette before leaving the dining room.

"Fuyuumi-chan, Yunoki and Tsukimori are the first users of the practice rooms, huh?" Kazuki stretched his arms upwards. "Alright then, I'm going to warm up first, then I'm gonna practice some pieces."

"Warm up? How, Hihara-senpai?" Kahoko asked, curious.

"Running, of course." Kazuki grinned. "Wanna join me, Hino-chan?"

Kahoko laughed. "No, thanks. I think I'm going to look for some CDs to listen to."

"How about you guys?" Kazuki turned to Raily and Keichii.

Raily shook her head. "You can go ahead."

Keichii also declined. "I'm going to look at music grammar books. I heard that they have a big collection of them here."

"Okay then, see you later." With a wave, Kazuki went out to the door.

"I'm gonna check out the outside too. Laters, guys." Raily got her violin case and left.

Raily walked around the garden, admiring the beauty of nature.

"God, this reminds me of back home." Raily sighed and sat down at one of the benches.

After reminiscing about the past and deciding that it's now time to do some work, she opened her violin case and pulled out a book of exercises that they use in Sano's class.

"Urg. How pathetic am I? The others are there practicing real pieces, while I'm here practicing how to read notes. Yup. I sure have a chance in winning this concours alright." Raily laughed drily. "Of course, I'm gonna win this by bribing the principal and Yunoki Azuma. Yes, that's right. How else am I gonna win?"

Raily felt dread in her stomach and she brought her knees up to the bench and hugged them close to her as she put her head down. Realizing that she still needs to go back to Seiso and face those bitches and everyone after this camp, she can't help feeling like shit.

"Tired already?"

Raily's head snapped up and she saw Len standing directly in front of her, his violin case in one hand. The sight of him up close made her feel really weird and so she quickly lowered her gaze to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Raily said, trying to sound normal even when her heart is running six hundred miles per minute. "You're supposed to be in the practice room."

"I let Hino-san use the room first." Len replied coolly. "There are CDs there and a CD player."

"Ah." Raily replied. _What is happening to me?_

"Hanami-san,"

"W-What?" Raily risked glancing up and was once again trapped in his eyes.

"A real musician," Len started. "Knows when to stop caring about the opinion of others."

That broke the spell.

Raily realized what Len must be implying with his statement and stood up in defense.

"What do you know of being a real musician, Tsukimori?" Raily snarled. "I know you're the Great Tsukimori Len, but like me, you're just a student."

"I am aware that I am a student." Len said calmly. "I know that I still have much to learn."

"Then just mind your own business, dammit!"

If Len was affected by her screaming, he didn't show it. "It is because of that temper of yours that makes our classmates take pleasure in tormenting you."

"Then what should I do? Just let them insult me?" Raily glared at him. "Cause if that's what you want, then there's no way I'll let that happen."

"I knew it was a waste of my time, trying to communicate with you." Len muttered. "You do not understand at all."

"What?_ I_ don't understand? No, it's _you _who doesn't understand."Raily said, poking him hard in the chest. "You don't understand what I'm going through, alright?"

Setting down his violin case, Len gently but firmly took Raily's hand from his chest and made her look at him in the eye.

"There will always be people who will want what you have. In order to get that, they will attack your mind. They will see every fault in you, exaggerating them so that you will only see the worst of you."

Raily tried to free her hand from Len's grasp but he only held on tighter.

"They win at the exact moment you let them affect how you see yourself. When you begin to think what they think, you lose yourself and most regrettably, you lose your music." Len let go of her hand. "Is that what you want to happen?"

He was right. He was painfully right and it brought tears in her eyes. She blinked them away and tried hard not to show her breaking down in front of him.

"Here," Len had gotten out a thin compilation of Mozart's violin music sheets and laid it on the bench. "It is up to you if they win or lose now."

As he was about to leave, Raily stopped him.

"Tsukimori, why do you even care?"

_Why do I care? _Len had to consider that. "I do not." He said finally.

_Of course you don't. _Raily didn't want to admit it but she was crestfallen. She hoped it didn't show. "Then… then why are you doing this?"

"I just do not wish for the quality of the concours to diminish because of you."

"Yeah," Raily half-laughed at that and wiped the tears off her eyes with her hand. "I kind of expected that from you."

Len raised a brow, but then he got his violin case, turned and walked back to the villa. Was it just his imagination or was there someone standing by the windows a while ago?

From the practice room, Azuma made a mental score board on his head.

_Tsukimori Len- 1_

_Tsuchiura Ryoutarou- 0_

"Oh, how very interesting, indeed." Azuma sat back down on the chair, a big smile on his face. "I wonder… how Tsuchiura-kun will make his move now?"

End of Chapter 13

* * *

**Hey readers!**

**Like I promised, here's Training Camp Part I! :) I'm truly apologize for only updating now. I know it's been almost 9 months, O_O but i hope you still continue to read and review my story. :)**

**Honestly, your reviews really help me a lot. :) thank you! I hope to update the next chapter soon :D  
**

**-Katelyn Haven**


	14. Training Camp Part II

Chapter 14

Training Camp Part II

* * *

After several minutes of roaming around the mansion, Ryoutarou settled in on a room that had the only piano besides the ones in the practice rooms. Ryoutarou's eyelid twitched when he unveiled the antic piano from its covers.

"Who the _hell _made this piano?" Ryoutarou stared repulsively at the powder pink piano that had ornamental designs. He half-considered leaving the room but then, what was he supposed to do while the practice rooms are still being in used? There's just no other way for him to practice without a piano.

"Alright. It's just a piano…. A girly looking piano. But a piano nevertheless." Ryoutarou stiffly sat down on the piano bench and tested the keys. "Hm. At least it's in tune."

He flexed his fingers in the air before drowning himself in Chopin's wonderful music.

_Chopin… Chopin…._ Ryoutarou's eyes closed appreciatively as he played the relaxing and serene Nocturne. _Ahh… This nocturne… I played this last time when I met Hanami Raily… Raily…_

Ryoutarou suddenly froze, his fingers still poised on top of the keys. His eyes flew open as he realized there was something strange going on in his head.

_What… what just happened? _Ryoutarou stared down at his hands. _Why did I suddenly think about Hanami Raily? _

For all the times he was playing the piano, he would always find himself— only himself— on a different world. Depending on which emotion he's feeling as he played a piece, he would either be calm and longing or playful and passionate. Nevertheless, there was never a moment where _someone else _had been in his thoughts as he played.

_Oh hell... Do I… like… her? No. _Ryoutarou furiously shook his head. "No. That's not true. That's just crazy!" He got off his seat and paced around the room.

"Okay, alright, alright, no more thoughts about Hanami from now on. No more." Ryoutarou breathed in and out. "There's no sense in making this a big deal. Yeah, that's right. Cool down, Tsuchiura Ryoutarou."

He sat back down and got out some music sheets he brought with him. _Okay, time to play something new. Something challenging. Something that will save me from this insanity._ But as he browsed through the many sheets, he couldn't stop thinking about the sight of Raily's peaceful face as he played the piano for her the very first time.

Time dragged on and he was begging for some form of diversion. He suddenly caught sight of Keichii at the doorway as he happened to pass by the hall and jumped on that chance.

"Shimizu!"

Keichii stopped on the door, turned and blinked at him. "…Yes, Tsuchiura-senpai?"

"Um," Ryoutarou . "Can you come here for a moment?"

"…Okay."

Keichii stepped inside the room and after Ryoutarou asked him to sit in the sofa across him, there was awkward silence.

Ryoutarou cleared his throat and gestured at the thick black book Keichii was holding in his lap. "Studying?"

Keichii nodded. "I'm looking up some terms in this music book."

"Ah, I see." Ryoutarou nodded.

"Senpai?"

Ryoutarou's head snapped up. "Yes?"

"…Why do you look so troubled?"

"Me?" Ryoutarou swallowed. "Uh, well… I don't really know… I mean, yeah, I think I have an idea why… but, I'm just all confused and… you know…."

Keichii just looked at him blankly.

Ryoutarou sighed. "Shimizu, have you, uh, ever been in, well… in love?"

"In love, senpai?" Keichii said with a tilt of his head.

"Well, yeah, you know, love." Ryoutarou uttered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world and it wasn't making him freak out.

"I think so."

Ryoutarou's eyes widened. "R-really? Shimizu? You were _in love_?"

Keichii nodded slowly. "I guess… you can say I'm in love… up to now."

"Whoah," Ryoutarou tried to take this piece of information in. "Alright um… Well… can you tell me about it?"

Keichii made a hmm sound.

"…I suppose it started off as curiosity." Keichii said.

Ryoutarou nodded knowingly, feelingly.

"Then, it gradually turned to something more… more special."

Ryoutarou stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"It's like there is some sort of connection between us. I'm always being drawn in." Keichii's eyes were unusually glazed over and he had a far-away look on his face.

_Yes. Exactly, my friend. DRAWN IN is the feeling, alright. _Ryoutarou said to himself.

"So, did you happen to um, have instances wherein you can't help but… think about this connection?" Ryoutarou felt color rushing from his neck to his ears as he asked that.

"I've thought about it lots of times, senpai." Keichii smiled.

"But you're not bothered by it?" Ryoutarou asked, not bothering to hide his extreme and tremendous shock by that thought.

Keichii took time to ponder upon that. "…No, I don't think so. I'm actually happy because I have this connection." Keichii paused. "It may be one-sided at first, but when I have accepted it, every moment becomes better and better."

_Well, no matter how I look at it, there's really only one reason to why I keep thinking about you. _Ryoutarou thought drily.

"You shouldn't be afraid, senpai." Keichii said, as if reading his thoughts. "…It will only make it harder for you if you keep denying."

"That is _very _true. It's like the more I try to resist, the more I think about her." Ryoutarou said with much frustration.

"Just go with the flow then."

That made Ryoutarou smile a little. "Yes, I think you're right about that."

Keichii nodded and glanced at the clock. "…It's almost time for lunch."

Ryoutarou saw that the time was about a quarter to twelve. "Wow, you're right." He stood up and smiled apologetically at the freshman. "I'm sorry for taking so much of your time."

"No, it's fine." Keichii stood up as well.

"Thank you for this talk." He then added. "I really realized a lot of things."

"You're welcome, senpai."

As they walked out the room, Keichii told Ryoutarou to go ahead. He would just fix his cello and things in the room next door.

Keichii was almost by the door when Ryoutarou called out.

"Good luck on your love, by the way."

Keichii smiled and continued walking. Who knew that his talking about his love for _cello_ can bring his senpai so many realizations?

* * *

Down by the garden, Raily sneezed for about the third time. _Geez, is someone thinking about me or something?_

With a pencil in hand, she continued to put the equivalent letters of the notes in one of the Mozart pieces she found in the collection given by Len.

"A, G, D, E," She diligently marked them, hoping that these will help her in reading the notes as she practiced later.

Several minutes have passed and she was done. She stretched out on the bench and sighed contentedly.

"Alright, let's try playing you, Mozart." Raily got her violin and bow in position. She glanced at the first measure in the sheet and tried playing it.

It wasn't easy. Trying to match up the strings, the bowing and the notes. It took her more than ten times to convince her that she could move on to the second measure. Even so, she knew that it was still rough around the edges.

"Damn, if only I could listen to the piece then everything would be so much easier." Raily muttered. "Why is playing by notes so freaking hard?"

Her watch showed that it was almost noon so she decided to call it a break and head inside. She could work on the second measure later.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was nothing on the dining table except for a piece of paper.

Raily, being the first to arrive, picked it up and read it.

_To whoever finds this,_

_Tomida-san and I left to buy some supplies in the market._

_She left some dishes for you guys in the refrigerator. Just heat them up. _

_ -Kanazawa_

"Okay, sure." Raily put the note down and went to the refrigerator. "Let's see what we got here." Poking her head inside, she found a curry-looking dish and some rice in plastic containers. She opened one and took a smell of it. "Ooh, chicken curry. Nice."

With the opened container in hand, she turned around and accidentally slammed on some barricade. This surprised her and made her drop what she was holding. Looking down in horror, she saw the plastic container lying upside down, its contents all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry!"

Raily looked up at the owner of the voice. The freaking barricade that she had smacked into was none other than the tall torso of Tsuchiura Ryoutarou.

"Tsuchiura!" Raily said, aghast. "What were you doing standing there behind me?"

Ryoutarou was at loss for words at the sudden with encounter with Raily, especially after that talk with Keichii. "I… I was just wondering why there wasn't any food prepared on the table."

"Well, there really won't be any now." Raily cried out, miserably. "What are we gonna do? The others are gonna be here soon!"

"Wait, just calm down for sec-"

"You calm down!" Raily snapped. "There's nothing in the fridge except rice now, Tsuchiura!"

"Hey, this wasn't entirely my fault-"

"It _is_ definitely you're fault!"

Despite the fact that Raily was acting like a PMS-ed bitch blaming him for the now-inedible food, Ryoutarou couldn't find himself to get angry at her. Strangely at that very moment, he even found her irresistible.

"What are you _staring_ at?" Raily shoved him. "Do something!"

Ryoutarou blinked a couple of times and sighed as he thought of a plan. "Alright, alright, why don't you clean this up and I'll fix us something else to eat."

"You cook?" Raily raised a brow at him.

"I know how to cook, if that's what you're asking. Now please move away from the fridge so I can start. We got less than fifteen minutes 'til everyone gets here looking for food."

It was Raily's turn to blink. "Oh, yeah, right. I'll look for a mop."

They both went on to their separate tasks. Ryoutarou found some eggs and some vegetables on the fridge so he took those out with the rice and decided to make fried rice.

He was chopping the ingredients when Raily came back with the cleaning materials. First she swept the solids away before mopping the yellowish liquid on the floor. As she was doing so, she caught a whiff of Ryoutarou's cooking.

"Damn, it smells so good." Raily quickly finished up and walked over to the stove where Ryoutaro stood stirring the food in the wok.

"Wow, it actually looks good too." Raily commented.

"Glad you think so," Ryoutarou said in a sarcastic tone. Deep inside though, his heart was going a hundred miles per minute as he realized how their shoulders were almost touching.

"Can I try it?" Raily said, smiling happy at him.

"H-huh?" Ryoutarou almost dropped the spatula he was holding.

"I want to taste it, to see if it's good." Raily responded. "Can I?"

"Um… sure." Ryoutarou got a clean spoon and scooped up some rice for her. He held out the spoon to her and their fingers touched as Raily got the spoon from him.

_Is this…. Is this the connection Keichii was talking about?_ Ryoutarou asked himself as he watched Raily try the fried rice. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she gave him a thumbs up.

Ryoutarou was in panic. _W-what? Did she just read my mind? _

But as soon as Raily swallowed, she punched him lightly in the arm and said. "That was the _best_ fried rice I've ever tasted, Tsuchiura!"

Letting out a little laugh at that sudden misunderstanding, Ryoutarou smiled. "Honestly though, this is the only decent food I can cook."

"Really? I find that kinda hard to believe." Raily said. "This stuff is like _whoah._"

"It does taste rather delicious, doesn't it?"

Raily put her tongue out at him and he laughed.

They placed the fried rice in separate plates and set them on the table. They were done with a little more than three minutes to spare before the clock strikes twelve.

"Well, I feel quite accomplished," Ryoutarou folded his arms over his chest.

"Yeah," Raily responded. "Listen, I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier. I didn't mean to go crazy on you like that. I guess, I was freaking out."

Ryoutarou glanced at her. "It's alright."

"No, you didn't deserve that." Raily frowned. "It wasn't your fault."

Ryoutarou fought the urge to put his hand on her shoulder. "Hanami, it's really fine. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about what?" Kazuki and the others started showing up in the kitchen and approaching the dining table.

"I'll go get us something to drink." Raily walked towards the cupboard to get some glasses.

Ryoutarou looked back at her retreating form. _Do I accept… that I'm starting to… like you, Hanami Raily?_

From the dining table, Azuma smiled to himself. _Ara. Looks like Tsuchiura is on the move too. _

_Tsuchiura Ryoutarou- 1_

_Tsukimori Len- 1_

"What's so funny, Yunoki?" Kazuki asked when he found his friend suddenly smiling.

"Nothing, Hihara." Azuma waved his hand in dismissal and his smile turned even more mysterious. "It's just…. Things are getting more and more interesting… don't you think?"

End of Chapter 14

* * *

**Hey guys!**

**I am reaaally sorry for updating late again. Actually, I was sincerely considering stopping this story, but then I saw the reviews. It made me think hard about the story again :)) so here it is, Part II! I hope you guys have fun reading this as much as I had fun thinking about the concept :) please continue to send in your reviews! :D  
**

**-Katelyn Haven  
**


	15. Developments TC Part III

Chapter 15

Developments (T.C. Part III)

* * *

The rest of the day went on normally with each of the concour participants practicing their own instruments in their own methods.

By the time dusk approached, everyone was tired and decided to retire for the day. Well not exactly everyone.

With a sigh, Len stretched out his cramped neck, rotating it left right, up and down. He was about to put back his violin in its case when he suddenly heard the gentle notes of _Ave Maria_ being played somewhere outside the room he was practicing at.

Violin and bow in hand, he slowly walked towards the open terrace and was startled to see Kahoko playing the violin just below him. With her red hair being gently blown away by the wind and the orange glow of the sunset illuminating the content smile on her flawless face, Len just stood there, looking down at her. At that moment, she seemed so serene and enchanted, just like the song she was playing. It magically took Len's breath away.

_That gentle music… Will I be able to play like that? _As if on a daze, Len suddenly put up his violin and played the duet along with Kahoko.

Kahoko was surprised by the sudden addition of sound and she opened her eyes to find Len playing Violin2 with her.

_This music… it sounds so much nicer when we're both playing. _Kahoko said to herself as they continued on with the song. _Tsukimori-kun's violin… coincides with mine..._

* * *

Raily, as ecstatic as she can be since she just managed to finish a whole page of Mozart, walked down the hallways of the mansion with a big smile on her face.

"I _actually _finished that piece! Well, it was only one page and it's not perfect, but heck I _finished _it! Wait 'til Donna hears about this." Raily giggled to herself and hugged her violin case close to her chest. She was a few steps away from the kitchen when someone called her.

"Hey, Hanami."

Raily turned around to find Ryoutarou walking towards her.

"'Sup, Tsuchiura." Raily smiled happily at him.

_God, she's pretty when she smiles. _Ryoutarou quickly shook those thoughts away as he tried to sound coherent. "W…" He cleared his throat. "…why so happy?"

"I finished my piece! Without any help!"

"Whoah, congrats." Ryoutarou chuckled at her sudden burst of happiness.

"Thanks, I'm great aren't I?" Raily put her tongue out at him jokingly.

_Yes. Yes, you are and you don't even know it. _Ryoutarou agreed inside. "Wanna see what's for dinner?"

"Sure, let's go."

As the two of them continued towards the kitchen, the sound of two violins suddenly reached their ears.

"…Who's playing?" Raily found herself asking aloud.

"It's probably Hino and-..." Ryoutarou didn't get to finish what he was saying as Raily quickly bounded out into the back door, towards the garden.

"Hey, Hanami! Wait up!" Ryoutarou quickly caught up with her, not speaking when he noticed the sudden change of mood in Raily.

Raily couldn't quite figure out why her heart was pounding so hard as they approached nearer and nearer to the source of music. She wasn't a moron. She knew perfectly well that there were only two other violinists in this training camp besides her. She already knew from the start who were playing that duet… and yet, why does it seem to bother her so much that she has to see them for herself?

As soon as Kahoko's figure came into view, Raily looked up at the open terrace on the second floor and stopped on her tracks.

_Hino… and Tsukimori… Tsukimori…_Raily just stood there, a few feet behind Kahoko. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head, as if not believing. She once again looked up at the terrace and once again there was Len, peacefully playing that duet with Kahoko.

She can't help it. She felt a stab of pain in her heart as she recalled the time in _Alfredo's_.

"_I never and will never play duets." _Was what Len had said that time when they asked him to play a duet with her. And now here he is, enjoying this moment with Kahoko. _They actually sound good together. Like they… mesh. _

"Shit," Raily muttered, only it was loud enough for Ryotuarou to hear.

He was observing her as she took in the scene. He noted the hint of sadness and pain in her face. And that's when he knew he had finally come to accept that he, Tsuchiura Ryoutarou liked Hanami Raily. Because at that moment, he could almost sympathize with Raily. At that moment, he had felt the same pain one would feel when they find out that the one they liked, already likes someone else. And what's worse, that someone else was _Tsukimori Len._

Ryoutarou looked away. "Let's go, Hanami."

Raily just stood motionless.

Ryotuarou sighed and he stood there with her, waiting as the song finally ended and Len opened his eyes.

"That was great, Tsukimori-kun!" Kahoko suddenly exclaimed.

Len looked at Kahoko, expressionless and still stunned. From the corner of his eye, he saw two more people besides Kahoko. He inclined his head and found two retreating forms. One of them had long, straight black hair

"Tsukimori-kun?" Kahoko asked, a bit confused by his reaction.

For some reason, Len felt a great discomfort at the thought that Raily had seen this duet. Without any word to Kahoko, he went back to his room and slumped on the sofa chair. _What's the matter with me?_

* * *

"Hanami." Ryoutarou called as Raily just walked ahead of him, without any word.

"Hanami." Ryoutarou tried again, but still no reaction came from her. He really didn't like seeing her like this. It pained him more than ever.

Ryoutarou sidestepped to stop in front her and put his hands on her shoulder. "Hanami. Just stop for a second." He said, almost sounding desperate.

Raily kept her head low, her bangs obscuring her face.

"Tsuchiura," Raily uttered out before ducking under his arms and escaping.

In a flash, Ryoutarou grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Raily didn't protest as he enveloped his muscled arms around her back and hugged her close to him, keeping her arms to her side.

"It's alright, Raily. It's alright." Ryoutarou whispered to her over and over again.

His tenderness made Raily lose control. She pressed her face on Ryoutarou's broad chest and soon she was sobbing over his sweater.

Patiently, Ryouatarou kept one hand on her back while the other stroked her hair soothingly. He kept on repeating those words "Raily, I'm here. It's alright. It's alright." And his heart did a flip when he suddenly felt that Raily's arms had left her side and was now hugging his torso, bring her closer to him.

When Raily started to calm down, her body stopped shaking and her tears were subsiding. She pulled away from Ryoutarou and took a few steps back. Ryoutarou watched her as she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

There was an awkward silence as Raily thought of what to say. She suddenly felt embarrassed. It was the second time Ryoutarou had seen him like this. First it was at Seiso and now here. She was still the same weak person, crying.

Ryoutarou took a step forward and Raily instinctively stepped back.

Ryoutarou smiled, but Raily noted the hint of rueness in it.

"Tsuchiura…" Raily swallowed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what happened-"

"It's alright." Ryoutarou cut her off quietly. "As long as you're alright now."

"I'm fine." Raily tried to give a smile. "…And thank you. I'm sorry about your sweater."

As Ryoutarou touched his right chest where her head used to be, Raily suddenly blushed.

"You know, you're gonna have to buy me a new one if this stains." Ryoutarou said and looked at her with a straight face.

Raily laughed. "Yeah, sure sure."

Ryoutarou smiled and gestured towards the door. "So, madam, let's go to dinner now, shall we?"

"We shall, monsieur." Raily walked with Ryoutarou back to the house. But before they entered the door, something suddenly occurred to Raily.

"Hey, while we were out there… you called me _Raily_."

It was only after she finished stating that fact and a look of discomfort flashed through Ryoutarou's face that she realized how awkward it was to suddenly bring it up.

"It was intrusive of me, wasn't it? I'm sorry." Ryoutarou said, abashed.

"No," Raily answered too quickly. "It's fine. I actually like it." Raily then realized what connotation there was to that so she added. "I mean, I prefer it when people call me by my first name."

"Alright, I'll call you Raily from now on then." Ryoutarou nodded. Deep inside, he was flying around the heavens, singing with joy.

The two of them entered the kitchen and came face to face with Len, who came from the refrigerator, holding a bottle of iced tea.

Raily and Len's eyes locked for a moment until Kazuki and the others started calling them from the table and Ryoutarou touched her shoulder. They all sat down on the table for dinner.

"Are, Hanami-chan, that's strange. Don't you have any appetite?" Kazuki asked as he shoveled some rice in his mouth.

Everyone suddenly noticed that Raily's plate was empty. They all knew Raily was a big eater. Seeing that she's not eating means that something's definitely wrong.

Getting out of her daze, Raily gave them her trademark smirk. "What are you talking about? I'm just waiting for everyone to have their fills so I can finish what's left."

Everyone except Len laughed at that. Seated across Raily, he took a long drink from his bottle and almost slammed it in the table, startling everyone. Poor Shouko almost dropped her spoon from fright.

"Tsukimori-kun," Azuma started. "…Is there something wrong?"

"No. I apologize for that. Maybe it's just stress." Len pushed back the bangs from his face with a hand.

"You guys still have around 2 days left. You young people don't need to rush things." Kanazawa muttered.

"Well, sensei, maybe if you tell us what the theme for the next concours will be…" Kazuki hinted.

"Sorry, no can do." Kanazawa grinned when everyone groaned.

Kahoko, who was seated besides Len, suddenly noticed something about his bottle. "Eh? Tsukimori-kun! You got the wrong bottle!" Kahoko said, turning to him with a laugh.

Raily tightened her grip on the chopsticks she was holding.

Len blinked at Kahoko. "What are you talking about?"

"Look," Kahoko pointed at the cover of the bottle. "It says there _Hino. _Isn't that my bottle?"

"Ha-ha!" Kazuki exclaimed. "Your tricks eh, Tsukimori!"

Len just stared at them. "I didn't notice that. I'm sorry."

"Reallly now?" Kazuki wiggled his brows at him.

"I'll get you another bottle, Hino." Len said.

"No, it's fine. I'll just have some water." Kahoko said, standing up and going towards the refrigerator.

"So, Tsukimori." Kazuki looked at him with a smug face. "What was up with that?"

"I don't know what you're referring to, senpai."

"Oh, c'mon! Weren't you just trying to get Hino's-"

"Senpai, that's enough." Ryoutarou interrupted, sensing the uneasiness of Raily. "Tsukomori already said it was an accident."

Azuma smirked in the sidelines. _Oh, it's developing faster than I thought._

"Whew. I'm tired." Raily got up from the table and stretched her arms. "I'm gonna go to sleep now, guys. See y'all tomorrow!" She quickly left before Kahoko even had the chance to return.

Ryoutarou debated on whether to get up and follow her.

"So, how was your practice, Tsuchiura?" Azuma asked him with an innocent smile.

Ryoutarou watched as the doors to the kitchen closed and glared at Len. "Great. Just… great."

End Of Chapter 15

* * *

**Hey Readers!**

**Homygash. I just found out that my last update was still in May O_O I'm so sorry for taking this long! I just didn't have a lot of free time lately but I found that people were putting me in their Story Alerts and Favorites. That's really cool of you guys. I'm glad you liked my story! **

**I hope you guys write a review after reading this chapter! It's kinda shorter than usual but I'll think ahead about the story for the next chapter. Anywayss hope you enjoy reading this! :D**

**-Katelyn Haven  
**


	16. Traning Camp Part IV

Chapter 16

TC Part IV

* * *

Plopping down on the soft mattress, Raily covered a pillow over her face and gave a muffled scream at it. After about an hour of thrashing on the lacy bed and pouncing over the equally lacy pillows, she still couldn't agree with the unfortunate conclusion that she, in truth, let Len Tsukimori get to her heart. Or more precisely, her heart a_nd_ her mind. No matter what she did she just couldn't stop thinking about the Len-Kahoko duet.

She reflected about what it meant, why it happened and so on. But most of all, what she really wanted to know was: ARE THEY TOGETHER? Or if not, WILL THEY BE TOGETHER?

Frustrated with herself and the people involved, Raily threw the pillow on the wall and stared at the ceiling. _FUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK. _

"Hanami-san?"

Raily slowly turned her head at the voice and saw Kahoko by the door of their bedroom. She was surveying the mess in the room and Raily noticed that Kahoko was smart enough to keep some distance (okay a LOT of distance) between them. Without a doubt, she is definitely the last person Raily wanted to see.

"Are… are you okay?" Kahoko asked, worriedly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Raily stared back at the ceiling. _Wouldn't you like to know, you bubbly piece of-._

"Do… you want me to call sensei?" Kahoko was approaching the bed now.

Raily put up a hand. "No. Let's just go to bed." She stood up and got her stuff to sleep on the floor.

"You can stay in the bed if you like." Kahoko offered.

Raily once again didn't answer. She just laid down and pulled the blanket over her.

Just then Shouko came in and Raily braced herself for another round of questions about whether she was fine. Surprisingly, Shouko didn't say anything. She just greeted them good night before finding a good position in the bed to sleep.

Sensing that both her roomies were not in the mood for some late night girl talk, Kahoko also got in the covers. Tomorrow's gonna be another busy day for the concour participants.

In the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep, Raily once again found herself in a dilemma.

No, it's not about the pain in her heart or her mind. It's that disturbing yet hollowing feeling of extreme hunger. The kind where it makes a person double over and sweat like crazy. It is definitely something that Raily, as a good eater, cannot just ignore.

_GRoooOOWL._

"Fuck." Raily hissed.

_GROoooOOOWL._

"Fuckkkk." She enveloped her stomach with her arms but this did very little to ease the pain.

GRRrrrrrOOOOOOOOWwwww-

"Alright already!" With a huff, Raily kicked back the blankets and took a peek at the bed to check if anyone was still awake before she tiptoed out of the room.

Raily then walked down the hallways and into the kitchen, silently begging that there was still some food left. At that point, she'd eat _anything. _

Opening the lights to the kitchen, she was surprised to find a dish on the table with portions of rice, pork cutlets, omelet and vegetables. There was even a piece of cupcake to go with it. All of those were neatly wrapped in film plastic.

…_Did someone leave this for me? _Raily felt a tug at her heart. She tried to assess who it might be, but impulsively her first thought was that it was Len who did it. Deep in her heart, she really hoped it was Len. But she knew it wouldn't be sensible to believe in that.

"Well, whoever left this, thank you." Raily then proceeded in filling the need of her grumbling, growling stomach.

* * *

The next day:

"Good morning, everyone!"

Everyone in the dining table looked up from their food and found themselves mind-blown. Every last one of them had the same single thought bursting through their consciousness.

IT'S MORNING AND HANAMI RAILY'S SMILING.

"Helllllo?" Raily waved a hand over them. "Calling everyone back to earth please?"

"You seem… happy, Raily-san." Azuma commented, amused.

"And why shouldn't I be?" Raily smiled at him as she took a seat on the empty chair, which was across Len.

"Because you're always cranky in the morning until you get food?" Kazuki answered.

"H-Hihara-senpai!" Kahoko exclaimed.

Raily raised a brow. _Could Hihara have left the food for me last night since he knew I would get hungry?_

"So, did you sleep well last night?" Ryoutarou asked, ever so casually.

"Yup, sure did." As Raily got food into her plate, she was careful to avoid eye contact with a certain blue-haired boy. There was no trouble there since he also did the same.

"I'm glad you're feeling better now, Hanami-san." Kahoko smiled.

"Sorry if I got you worried." Raily smiled back._ Okay Raily, you're mature. She didn't do anything wrong. Just remember. Stay happy. Everything's fine._

"Well, now that we're in a happy-happy mood over here, I'm feeling I should join in and enlighten you all with some good news." Kanazawa leaned back on his chair with a grin on his face.

"EEEEHHHH? What is it, Kanayan!" Kazuki bounced on his seat as he excitedly look at Kanazawa.

"Hmmm. Nothing much. Just the theme for the next selection of the concours."

Everyone was silent as they expectantly looked at him. His grin grew wider. "The theme will be…. LOVE HUUURTS."

Raily immediately spit out the food she was chewing on her mouth, showering its mighty contents onto Len.

"Shit! I'm sorry!" Raily offered her napkin to Len, who took it with a straight face and stiffly wiped his face. He too was caught off-guard by what Kanazawa just announced.

"Are you serious?" Ryoutarou asked, dubious.

"Yeah, Kanayan! What kind of a theme is that?" Kazuki accused.

Kanazawa threw back his head and laughed. "I'm just-HAHHA-joking-HAHAHHA-your faces-HAHAHHA!"

"…." Everyone wanted to throw something at him.

"Okay, okay." Kanazawa wiped a tear from his eye. "Whew. That was fun. Okay, so anyway. The real theme is actually "The Inevitable".

"The Inevitable…" Shouko whispered, with a concentrated look on her face.

"Well," Kazuki leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling. "That's not so bad."

"Good, good. I see that I got everyone's wheels turning. Why don't I leave you guys to figure out what to perform then?" With a smile, Kanazawa got up and started humming as he went off to somewhere in the mansion.

"Do you have something in mind already, Hanami-san?" Kahoko asked.

Raily quickly shook her head, hiding a blush that was starting to form. She didn't exactly know what she was gonna do, but as of that moment she was throwing away all ideas forming in her head that had something to do with Len Tsukimori. _Stop It. No more thoughts of him. Happy. Happy. Don't wanna be crazy and frustrated anymore. Just happy._

Azuma smiled once again as he had the trio in mind. _It really makes me wonder… just how will the second concours turn out now…? I believe it's a must-watch, indeed._

_  
_

Ryoutarou knew he had to focus on choosing the piece he'll play in the concours. He sure as hell wanted to win this, especially after seeing that there are a lot of people counting on the outcome that he'll be among the last cause he's a GenEd student. But he's been sitting in the practice room for about an hour now and nothing seems to be going in.

"Inevitable." Ryoutarou sighed and leaned back on the chair. "Well finding a piece at this rate is inevitable."

"Okay, inevitable, inevitable. AGHH." Ryoutarou finally decided to skim through the music sheets in the mansion's mini library to help him find his piece.

When he got there, he was surprised to find the door opened and soon he heard the hushed voices of Raily (of course he instantly recognized her voice) and someone else talking.

He peeked inside and found Raily and Azuma talking by the shelves. Whatever they were talking about looked immensely serious by the way Raily was glaring at her soon-to-be-stepbrother in a very menacing way. It itched Ryoutarou to sneak inside and have a listen at their conversation. And this is exactly what he did as he hunched in the shelf just behind them.

"Geez, Azuma! I can't just _ask _him." Raily hissed.

Azuma smiled. "Why not? It sounds pretty simple to me."

"Simple?" Raily looked at him like he was crazy. "We're not even- We're not even friends!"

"Is that so?" Azuma feigned shock. "You two seem pretty…_well-acquainted_ to me. Especially at Alfredo's…."

Ryoutarou's eyes fell downcast. _So they were close, after all. Even meeting at a restaurant._

"That was nothing!" Raily said, flustered. "We were just having a challenge, you know that!"

"Well, if you say so." Azuma suddenly turned away to hide his knowing smile, only to catch a patch of dark green hair on top of the books in the shelf next to them. _Hmmm, Tsuchiura eh?_

Azuma looked back at Raily and saw that she still hasn't noticed him eavesdropping. He didn't know how long Ryoutarou was standing there, but he decided to help the guy out a bit. "I still fail to see the gravity of the situation." Azuma then added in, a bit too loudly the next line. "After all you're just asking him to be your date for our parents' wedding—"

"SHH!" He didn't get to finish what he was saying cause Raily smacked him in the arm. "Shout it for the whole world to hear, why don't you!"

Ryoutarou clenched his fist. _Is it too late for me?_

"I apologize." Azuma rolled his eyes inside. "But I have an idea though, why don't you just ask Tsuchiura-kun, instead?"

Ryoutarou's breath stopped short as he waited for Raily's response. It felt like an hour before he heard her speak.

"I can't do that."

Ryoutarou felt like cold water had suddenly been dumped all over his head.

"And why not?' Azuma asked, trying to look concerned, when deep inside he's intrigued as hell. _Right now, just behind that shelf, Tsuchiura is probably having a small breakdown. _

"He… he has someone else." Raily muttered, as she remembered the Ryoutarou-Kahoko scene that night when they were talking and he had his hand on her shoulder. "You should be careful in asking Hino too, you know. I mean, she could also have someone else…." _Maybe two. Like Tsuchiura and Tsukimori… _

"Oh? Are you trying to tell me that Hino-san and Tsuchiura-kun are _dating_?" Azuma almost wanted to laugh, but controlled it. _Does this Raily seriously believe that? If that's the case then she's not just an idiot, she might be blind too. Can't she see how Tsuchiura really feels about her?_

Ryoutarou on the other side, was feeling puzzled and agitated, both at the same time. _What made her think that I like… Do I like Hino?_

"I didn't _say_ that. I'm just saying that I don't wanna get in the way of Tsukimori _or _Tsuchiura's interests." Raily replied. But she did mean it. She has no intention of forcing Len to like her if he doesn't and neither does she want to be an obstacle for Ryoutarou and his thing for Kahoko.

"But, Raily-chan," Azuma started. "You're just asking either one of them to become your date. For one night. You do know that you can go together as friends."

A look in her face suddenly made Azuma say something more.

"Unless, of course, you're going for more than _that_…"

"Of course not!" Raily sputtered. "Dude, I don't like both of them that way, alright?"

Azuma held up both hands, as if in surrender. "Alright, alright."

_I guess he's kinda right… we can just go as friends. I mean, it'll be fun. I'll just make sure that I won't cross the line. I'm sure as hell not gonna let myself fall for another guy that liked Hino. Damn, that Hino is an enchantress. Having these two guys, no wait three including Azuma, like her. _Raily sighed. "Fine. I'm gonna ask Tsuchiura then."

Ryoutarou couldn't help but pump his fist in the air quietly. _So we're going as friends. That's fine. Better than her going with Tsukimori anyway. _And just like that, a music piece suddenly came into his mind. That's what he's going to play in the concours. After making sure that Raily and Azuma were facing the other way, he slowly backed away from the library as the two people continued talking about informing Opal or Diamond of the changes and whatever. Ryoutarou's mind was too occupied to care anymore.

Azuma watched Ryoutarou's retreating form. _Alright, I have done my part for Tsuchiura. Now shall I go for Tsukimori then? _With a satisfied smile, Azuma started scheming in his head as Raily talked on about how strange Diamond is.

End of Chapter 16

* * *

**Hi again, readers!**

**As usual, i'm late in updating again -_- sorrrry guys, i've just been busy. And as always, your reviews are what keeps me going, so please comment about this chapter! hope it's worth your time reading :)  
**

**-Katelyn Haven  
**


	17. The Inevitable

Chapter 17

The Inevitable

* * *

"Geez! Alright already. I'll ask him to be my date. Just let me pick my piece for the concours already." Raily groaned.

"I'm just trying to help you." Azuma smiled.

"I know, I know. Now leave." Raily shooed Azuma away from the library.

With a chuckle, Azuma left.

Raily let out a sigh and walked towards the desk where she placed her violin and music sheets. She picked up the compilation of Mozart concertos Len had given her. Images of the Ave Maria duet suddenly flashed in her mind once again. _Fuck. I need to get over this and find a piece soon. _She tossed the book aside and headed to the cabinet of CDs. She chose some with violin solos and concertos and sat down a chair.

"Let's see…" Raily muttered to herself as she read through the tracks of the CDs containing different violin concertos. "Oh shit, I don't even know most of these songs." She sighed and decided to try listening to some of them in a portable CD player. She picked up a random CD, put on her earphones and played the first track.

After listening to the first few minutes of the track, she shook her head and switched to the next one. And to the next. She kept switching to the next track until one song made her stop, catching her attention and making her listen to it intently. It was so sad, yet so beautiful; so strong, so… _inevitable. _

After the song ended, she realized that her heart was beating fast. The piece reminded her of struggle in life. It's not just about the impending and inevitable doom, but the fight to go beyond that. _This is the one. It's perfect. _She got the case of the CD and looked for the title of that track.

_Vitali by Chaconne. _

"It has a lot of high notes and it sounds difficult to play, but I can do it. I'll show them I can do it." Smiling to herself, she immediately went on a search for the music score of that solo.

* * *

Kahoko had decided to play Canon in D for the next selection. She had greatly missed her friends and she wanted to express her love for them through this piece.

"Oh, I see you've found your piece already?" A voice suddenly spoke up behind her.

Kahoko gasped and turned. "Yunoki-senpai!"

Azuma smiled and gestured to the music sheet in her lap. "Canon in D, huh?"

"Would you like to sit?" Kahoko motioned for him to sit beside her in the sofa and he followed.

"Yeah, I've thought about it for a long time, and I think this is the best one."

"I see," Azuma nodded. "So this is your interpretation of the inevitable?"

"Yup. This piece will show the inevitable occurrence of warmth, companionship and… love.  
She blushed as she mentioned the last part.

"Love." With a smile, Azuma repeated the word. "For you, it is inevitable?"

"Well yeah," Kahoko replied awkwardly. "People don't really choose when or who to…" She trailed off when she met Azuma's intense gaze.

Without moving away his eyes from her, Azuma slowly raised his hand and trailed a finger down her cheek. "Do you really believe in love, Hino-san?"

"I… uh…" Kahoko couldn't respond properly as her mind suddenly turned blank.

"Is it not just an illusion? Something that keeps us entertained?" He asked, mockingly.

Kahoko began to process what he just said and her eyes grew wide with surprise. "N…no, what are you-"

He gently cupped her chain with his hand and leaned towards her until their faces were inches apart. His usual smile was gone, replaced with such intensity that made Kahoko's heart skip a beat. "Will you continue to entertain me, Hino?"

"S-senpai-" Kahoko panicked. _Why is Yunoki-senpai being like this?!_

"I'm kidding." He dropped his hand and moved away from her, his face back in his usual smile. "You've gotten so red, Hino-san."

Kahoko quickly looked away, her face burning even more. "T-that was mean, Yunoki-senpai!"

"Was it?" Azuma continued to smile at her and got up from his seat. "I apologize, I was only kidding."

"Y-you shouldn't joke on things like that." Kahoko huffed. _What was that? _

"A little warning, that's all."

"Huh?" Kahoko asked. "I didn't hear you, senpai."

"Nothing." Azuma raised a hand in farewell. "I have to go practice now. Good luck, Hino-san."

Kahoko stared at Azuma's retreating form and put a hand on her chest, as if to still her heart. She heard exactly what he said. _What did he mean by that? A little warning?_

Azuma walked down on the hallway and found Kanazawa.

"Good morning, sensei." Azuma stopped to greet him.

"Ah." Kanazawa nodded. "You seem to have a lot of free time, Yunoki. I don't see you practicing."

Azuma smiled. "I just decided on my piece, actually."

"Really now? What is it?"

"Massenet's Thaïs Meditation."

"As expected from Yunoki, you've chosen a beautiful and gentle song."

Azuma chuckled. "I actually see it as the calm before the storm."

"Of the inevitable?" Kanazawa raised his brow.

"That's right." Azuma smiled.

"Hm. Well, good luck with that then." Kanazawa paused. "Lunch will be served soon so don't get too engrossed with practice."

"Alright. Thanks, sensei." Azuma proceeded to his room.

* * *

At lunch, Kanazawa observed the concour participants and smirked. It was silent, and everyone in the dining table looked unusually distracted, like their minds were all somewhere else. Well, except for Keichii, since in a cute way, he looked like his mind was always somewhere else.

"So," Kanazawa cleared his throat to get their attention. "I take it everyone has chosen their pieces already?"

A few nods and some yeses.

"Care to share?"

A few inaudible murmurs. Kanazawa sweatdropped. "How about you, Hihara?"

"Me?" Kazuki put down his spoon. "I'm debating between two songs… They're both quite opposite so I'm confused."

"Well you better choose soon. How 'bout you, Hanami?"

"I've got one. I really want to play it but I think I underestimated its difficulty…" Raily sighed and stuff food on her mouth.

"Tsukimori?"

"I've decided on _Vitali_—" Len started.

Raily almost choked on her food. "-_Chonne's Vitali_?!"

Len glanced at her. "Yes, that's right."

"But-but," Raily swallowed and stared at him. "_I _was gonna play that for the concours!"

Len narrowed his eyes. "You're going to have to pick something else, then. I had that song in mind ever since sensei announced the theme."

"What!" Raily stood up in outrage. "That's totally unfair!"

"Well, we can't play the same piece." Len crossed his arms over his chest and glared back at her from his seat.

"I've started practicing for it-"

"And you said it was difficult, so just pick another song-"

"Why don't YOU pick, you selfish ba-"

"Sensei, do something!" Kazuki cried.

"Alright, alrght. Quiet!" Kanazawa sighed. "Sit down, Hanami. We'll talk about this."

Raily sat down with a huff and continued to glare at Len.

"Now, we can't really say who chose the piece first," Kanazawa put up a hand when Len was about to speak. "Let me finish. But we can negotiate."

"How?" Raily asked.

"Rock-paper-scissors."

"_What?!"_ Raily cried out. "You want me to negotiate _my _piece using that game?!"

"It's not _your_ piece." Len immediately corrected and turned to Kanazawa. "Sensei, is there no other way?"

"What's wrong with Rock-paper-scissors? Many conflicts have been resolved by that, you know." Kanazawa pointed out.

"Sensei!" Both Raily and Len argued.

"Okay, okay. Geez, this has never happened before. You two are gonna have to talk amongst yourselves." Kanazawa said. "See who's willing to compromise."

"Well, I'm telling you now, I'm not." Raily blurted out.

"Neither am I." Len seconded.

Kanazawa sighed again. "Fine. Both of you choose a different song then."

The two sophomores looked at the teacher, surprised. "Both of us?"

"If neither of you want to give in, then it's only fair that neither of you play it." Kanazawa shrugged.

Raily suddenly felt crestfallen. It was such a nice piece; she really wanted to play it for everyone to hear.

Len glanced at her and suddenly felt this sinking feeling in his gut. He too wanted to play that piece, but was it really that special to him? There were a lot more others he could replace it with. It was just the first song that came to mind when he thought of the theme, but it wasn't necessarily the best one. With that reasoning, he convinced himself that that is the reason why he suddenly feels angry and ashamed for being so relentless a while ago.

The silence between the two made Kanazawa take it as a sign of agreement. "Okay, now that that's all cleared up—"

"You can play it." Len blurted out, before getting up his seat and walking away.

Stunned, Raily's mouth went agape.

"Okay… so now I'm sure that's-" Kanazawa didn't get to finish his sentence once more as Raily quickly jumped up from her seat and went after Len.

Azuma saw Ryoutarou clench his fist for a second and he smirked in the sidelines. _Hm. Looks like Tsukimori doesn't need my help after all._

* * *

Len was near the door leading outside the mansion by the time Raily caught up to him.

"Tsukimori, wait!" She called out.

Len stopped for a second until she was only a few steps behind him, but he didn't turn to face her. "What is it?"

Raily suddenly didn't know what to say. "I um… Did you really mean what you said back there?"

"What?"

"That I can play _Vitali_?"

"…." Len walked towards the door.

"Hey! I'm not yet done talking with you!" Raily reached out to stop him but she didn't have to since he paused as his hand gripped the doorknob.

"Don't make me regret it." Was all he said before he turned the door open and left, closing the door before Raily could go after him again.

"Geez," Raily muttered to herself. _You didn't have to do that._

End of Chapter 17

* * *

**Dear Readers,  
**

**I know I'm such a slow writer/ updater, so I apologize. But I do hope you like this chapter and leave lots of reviews. :) Thanks for all who added me in their favorites and left me reviews. I appreciate it a lot. **

**Enjoy!**

**-Katelyn Haven**


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